our CAMPAIGN
LOCAL STREETS FOR LOCAL PEOPLE

Representatives of our campaign and all local residents associations attended a meeting held at Merton Civic Centre on Monday 16 December 2024 to hear a presentation from Council officers. Their presentation confirmed our long-held perception that high volumes of through traffic are cutting across East Hillside, especially during rush hours. It is impossible to be certain as to the origin and destination of all traffic: some may be local, but much of it will be from further afield.

• The traffic sensors were not fully working from July – September and there is only about two months’ data available so far, of which about three weeks was when there were major roadworks on Wimbledon Hill Road.
• Data will continue to be collected until the end of March 2025.
• Nevertheless, Merton Council believes that the main lessons are clear and that some conclusions may safely be drawn.
• The data shows quite clearly that there is a high volume of through traffic crossing East Hillside on the following axes:
  • Belvedere Grove/Belvedere Ave/Alan Road (the dogleg)
  • Belvedere  Grove and/or Belvedere Drive/St Mary’s Road/Woodside (in the direction of Leopold Road)
  • Woodside (whole length)
• Traffic volumes were broadly the same in both directions
• High volumes occur mainly in rush hours on weekdays
• Speeding traffic is an issue in Woodside (only), especially motorbikes where average speeds are 29mph, but also cars (avg 25mph)
• About 1.5% of all traffic is large HGVs (>18T) (a small percentage but which still amounts to several hundred vehicles)

In summary:

We shall publish the full data once we receive it from Merton Council.