Beckenham High Street Improvements Update 24th July 2107

Improvement Works Update, Monday 24th July, courtesy of F M Conway, contractor for the works:

·         Kerb laying and paving continuing north from Church Avenue.

·         The construction of the new planters on Beckenham Green will continue.

·         Transport for London traffic signals work at the Bromley Road/Church Road/High Street Junction are continuing. The old traffic islands at this junction will be removed.

·         Pavement laying will commence adjoining the planters on Beckenham Green.

In order to ensure the completion of Phase 2 on programme Conway’s will be working extended hours to 8pm and at the weekend.

For reference some works such as traffic signals and power connections are conducted by outside agencies such as Transport for London and UKPN. The project does not have control of these works and therefore trenches such as at the Albemarle and High Street junction cannot be filled.

Previous completed works 

·         At the corner of Church Avenue and High Street; kerb, drainage, paving have been completed.

The completed scheme 

Feedback from the community has revealed that there are some incorrect preconceptions about the scheme.

• The asphalt at Thornton’s Corner is a temporary measure until the granite paving is laid.

• The High Street will not be pedestrianised. Improvements will however greatly improve the pedestrian environment with wider pavements, improved lighting and more and better road crossings.

• After the improvements are complete the High Street will revert to two way traffic as prior to the improvements. The larger widenings such as the North-West corner of Thorntons Corner have been designed to enable the largest road vehicles to comfortably navigate the corner in both directions. Changes to the vehicle stop lines and traffic signalling will enable vehicles to use the reduced road space with minimal impacts on traffic flows.

• No existing bus stops will be removed from the High Street. All bus stops will however be improved and will become fully disabled accessible. In order to create sufficient waiting space for passengers some bus stops will be located on what is the highway at present.

• The scheme will not introduce shared surfaces where the footway and road surface will be on the same level. Throughout the scheme a kerb will be retained and the pedestrian areas will be a traditional pavement above vehicular areas except at crossing places.

Further information can be found at www.bromley.gov.uk/beckenhamimprovements

A Big Thank You 

Increasingly the project team and FM Conway have been receiving compliments about the improvements and the site contractors. Thank you for these. It is also much appreciated that businesses are working with and acknowledging that the site contractors of FM Conway are endeavouring to minimise disruption as much as possible.

We are aware that the works do cause noise and disruption. FM Conway will try and minimise the space for materials storage outside Beckenham Green as soon as possible. In the meantime thank you for your patience if you are affected.

About the scheme 

The scheme is designed to make the town more attractive to visitors and shoppers by day and night. A major objective is to support existing businesses and encourage new businesses to invest in the town centre. The High Street investment improvements will create a more attractive and safer pedestrian environment. Improvements will include new paving and road surfacing, improved and attractive lighting, improved road

crossings and bus waiting facilities, better facilities for cyclists and improved amenity spaces including Beckenham Green.

Extensive planning and consultation has been carried out since the scheme was proposed in 2012. The cooperation and input of the ‘Town Centre Team’ and its members including the Beckenham Business Association, The Beckenham Society and the Copers Cope Area Residents’ Association is gratefully acknowledged, with their input key in shaping the nature of the scheme.