[Split from "Traffic lights Dartmouth Road/London Road" -admin]
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I believe Spielberg has already bought the rights and Tom Hanks and George Clooney are trying to out-audition each other to play you, Deano.

But for the sequel, do you think you'd be able to exert the same sort of magic on the south circ? 6.45 this morning (when sensible people should still be sleeping or at least be in the kitchen eating toast) and the traffic was backed up from the lights opposite the Coop to the Railway Telegraph. Once we made it to the station London Road seemed fine.

I noticed the other day that those lights at the Coop have a strange sequence: 25 seconds red, 15 seconds green, 25 seconds red, 80 seconds green, 25 seconds red, 15 seconds green..... (so you can work out how long I was stuck in traffic watching traffic lights!)

Those lights at the Co-op are pedestrian controlled, aren't they? Hence the erratic pattern.

You could be right. I never really believed that those buttons did anything except give pedestrians a spurious sense of control, but there might be something in that. Still seems odd that the traffic would be that backed up that early in the morning.

Remember that set of lights is purely a pedestrian crossing, it is not controlling the traffic out of any other roads, so of course it is purely operated by pressing the button.

On more complex junctions where the green man is programmed to come at a certain point in the sequence it is often automatic at peak times, then switched to manual at off peak times.

I love the idea of TfL manufacturing, transporting and installing pedestrian controls purely as an elaborate hoax.

Meanwhile, this still doesn't explain why the traffic was tailed back so far this morning.

Maybe it was a parade trying to cross the road - one clown at a time.

I was forgetting that it's pedestrian-controlled because a side-effect of that is that it does, in fact, help traffic turning right out of Perry Vale onto the eastbound A205.

However, you're right of course because that traffic has no lights controlling it. They just have to wait for a pedestrian to push the button then obey the 'No left turn' sign so that they don't express their gratitude to those button-pushing pedestrians by running over them.

I think the odd left-hand turn would be permissible if it took out a clown. I don't like clowns.

Which is exactly what I said...

Pedestrian only crossing - yes, the button works

Road junctions - automatic during the day, button works at night.

There is definitely some miss-timings occurring near the Co-Op.

This morning there was yet another queue up to the crossing extending back to the Brockley Rise junction.

Conversely the traffic flowing to the other side of the lights from Waldram Place/Perry Vale into south circular was very clear (unusually so).

It seems the crossing button is triggering the lights too fast. Every time it's pushed it swiftly stops traffic. Rather than adhering to 'normal' intervals.

Perhaps the lights have been adjusted to free traffic on Perry Vale, and maybe they've been adjusted too far?

Sometimes the intention is to slow down traffic.

If that's their intention, then they score top marks, gold star and employee of the month - 'cause it's working! Grr!

If it seems to be an ongoing issue, perhaps someone should take a leaf out of Deano the Magnificent's book and email TfL, detailing exactly what the current timings are and how it is affecting the traffic.

I think I'm building up to that! The timings seemed odd at first (sitting in the traffic way back in the distance) but then I got the impression from this discussion that that junction was entirely controlled by pedestrians.

However, having sat in the Coop car park this morning, it appears that the lights can turn red without a pedestrian in sight - presumably to allow vehicles out of Perry Vale, but then we're back to the notion that the timings seem odd.

Okay, notebook, pencil, stopwatch and cunning disguise all prepared. Will hide behind the recycled clothes bins at the Coop and monitor the timings some day soon.

I'm not usually out and about quite this early (usually more like 7.10am) so I was surprised at how bad the traffic was at 6.10am, when things should have been flowing smoothly. So I sat in the Co-op car park and counted. Here's my submission to TfL's website...


The timing of the traffic lights at the junction of the A205 South Circular and Perry Vale SE23 (opposite the Co-op store) seems completely wrong and is backing up traffic during the morning rush hour. This set of lights is a pedestrian crossing though it also allows traffic to exit Perry Vale and turn right onto the A205. However, I have noticed in recent weeks that the lights are at red for longer than they are at green, which backs up the traffic excessively and unnecessarily. The situation is so bad that I've now just watched and timed the lights - 06.15am 29/10/13. Here are the approximate timings:
Green 18 seconds
Red 25 seconds
Green 10
Red 25
Green 13
Red 25
Green 15
Red 25
Green 10

This pattern seems excessively oriented towards red, at a time when the A205 traffic is building up. Please note: AT NO POINT IN THIS CYCLE DID ANY PEDESTRIAN APPEAR OR PUSH THE CROSSING BUTTON.
Please re-examine the settings for these lights. I have been told on SE23.com that the traffic backs up to Brockley Rise and beyond.
Very many thanks.


A reply within 10 working days, the website tells me.

As someone who uses these lights on a daily basis as a pedestrian I can confirm that something has definately happened to them in the last few weeks as they are now very pedestrian friendly. There used to be a good minute wait upon pressing the button, at the moment they are stopping traffic without any one pressing the button. Great for my morning walk to the station, not so good when I'm driving past. I'm guessing this can be easily fixed if TFL pay attention to your email.

Thanks, Hillwalker. Always reassuring to know it's not just my imagination!

Not just your imagination, I've noticed it a couple of times, most recently Sunday midday when it was backlogged round to Topps Tiles, hopefully your mail will get it sorted, good work.

Exactly one week after emailing TfL, I received this reply.....

And you probably start thinking, Oh, yeah. I know where this is going. But then!

Result! Thanks to Deano for the inspiration to actually try to do something! I have noticed a difference in these lights over the last few days so it's nice to know it's not just my imagination.

(Hope you don't object to be blotting out his phone number. Seems unfair to post it on a public forum though I know no one who is actually active on se23.com would take unfair advantage.)

Well done Mr_Numbers (and well done TfL).

Knowing how you like numbers I think you should be renamed 'Deano II' in the film of your life - 'the continuing saga Forest Hill's own answer to Falling Down'.

Oh dear. That presumably means they intend to increase the maximum red time wait for local pedestrians in favour of the through traffic.
This is not a SE23 victory. At all.

Although to be fair, they have disabled one of the pedestrian red man lights, to make up for it.