Decision details

(1)  Installation of a Toucan crossing at the junction of Crystal Palace Park Road with Thicket Road, as shown in diagram no13066-02 (Enc 5) appended to Report ES19805 is approved.

(2)  An allocation of £105k from the 2019/20 TfL LIP Walking Infrastructure Development programme is authorised.

(3)  Any minor changes to the design is delegated to the Director of Environment and Public Protection, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder.

A Toucan Crossing is to be installed at the junction of Crystal Palace Park Road and Thicket Road - a gateway to Crystal Palace Park - to provide a safe and more accessible crossing point for an increased number of pedestrians and cyclists visiting the Park (travelling to and from nearby stations).  

In recent counts over 300 pedestrians crossed at the junction during two hours of peak time on a weekday and over 700 pedestrians at a similar two-hour period on a Saturday. The PV² Value to justify a pedestrian crossing for the junction (using traffic count figures over two days in September 2019) was more than double the threshold needed. Residents have requested a pedestrian crossing at the location, many expressing safety concerns, particularly for those crossing with children. Ten personal injury collisions have also occurred at the location over a five-year period resulting in two serious injuries with one pedestrian sustaining slight injury. 

Modelling also shows a high level of pedestrian severance at the location and the surrounding area has strong potential to switch from local car trips to walking. L B Bromley’s LIP3 also aspires to extend Cycleway 7 (to end at Crystal Palace Parade) into Bromley via Crystal Palace Park and the route onwards towards Penge to link with the Lower Sydenham to Bromley and Greenwich to Kent House Quietways at New Beckenham. A Toucan crossing forms a key part of the aspiration, linking Crystal Palace Park and residential streets to promote cycling for local trips and trips to neighbouring boroughs. The crossing will also link pedestrians/cyclists to residential streets around Penge East Station.

Although a parallel Zebra Crossing is not viable (traffic congestion from heavy pedestrian footfall), a Signalled Controlled Crossing in the form of a Toucan Crossing (combined pedestrian and cycle crossing) provides safer crossing for pedestrians and cyclists and will also be demand dependent.

A shared path along the wide section of footway on the northern side between Thicket Road and Crampton Road will also be proposed and the opportunity taken to review dropped kerbs and tactile paving in the area. Additionally, the urban realm will be improved by adding trees and seating where appropriate and a highly visible crossing surface could also be added e.g. colourful dinosaur footprints to help highlight the crossing for drivers and enhance it as an approach to the park.

A sum of £105k to cover the estimated cost of the scheme is currently allocated within TfL LIP Walking Infrastructure Development Funding. This includes ongoing running costs of the proposed signals for approximately ten years based on anticipated annual costs.