The main problem is one of ownership. Network Rail, TfL, LOROL and Lewisham are all involved in some way and getting all the parties talking to each other and agreeing their responsibilities, liabilities and how to proceed has taken several years; indeed the Mayor of Lewisham commented on the snail's pace of progress at the October meeting of his Cabinet.
However, we have recently heard from Lewisham's Deputy Mayor that the lights (installed by Network Rail as part of the works carried out when the footbridge was being replaced but later disconnected) will be reconnected by the end of this week and that Shirley Broughton has just been appointed as the (long promised) Project Manager.
Progress on the replacement panels and resurfacing may have to wait a little longer, but we will keep the pressure up.
Ed: The lights were finally connected on 2 December and the underpass is now one of Lewisham's bright spots
3 comments:
It's crazy how the local police can find time to design and print leaflets about how not to get mugged and hand them out UNDER the underpass BUT there is still not enough money to revamp the underpass. WHAT A JOKE!
Lights? Yes, useful, but what we really need there is a ramp.
A capital budget of £730k was included in the Council's Capital programme in 2005/06 to provide funding to enhance station access to the extended East London Line that now forms part of the London Overground Network. This funding was obtained as part of the reward system in relation to a Transport
Local Public Service Agreement. The council have allocated an £104,000 of these funds to this project, which is supposed to cover the cost of purchasing and installing new panels for the wall. Further details can be found in this report http://bit.ly/hZWcvk
Berkley Homes also provided some funds as part of the Forest Hill Central development. This paid for the changes to the carriageway, repaving the footpath, installation of five cycle racks and the wavy bench, cleaning and repointing of the embankment wall and replacement of the existing lighting in the underpass, They also paid for the walls and ceiling to be repainted, but these have deteriorated rapidly. £26,000 of these funds are remaining.
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