Roadworks to hit traffic for 10 weeks

Yes folks as of this morning there will be 10 weeks of road works between Worcester Park and New Malden so as if it wasn't bad enough already you sample the joys of all traffic, including buses, being diverted down side roads

As the works are in Kingston borough details can be found on their website and I've reproduced them below:
http://www.kingston.gov.uk/browse/transport_and_streets/streetworks_and_traffic_updates.htm

Malden Road:

Tempoary traffic changes

Malden Road, Motspur Park, South Lane from 07 January 2013.  An estimated ten weeks of work to replace gas mains in Malden Road (A2043), Motspur Park and South Lane will begin on Monday 07 January 2013.  Southern Gas Networks has written to local businesses (and residents?) to explain how this will affect them.

Temporary road closures, lane closures, suspensions of bus stops, parking spaces and loading bays will be in place as follows over the course of the work due to end in March.

• Phase 1 - Malden Road from Motspur Park to Portland Avenue

Temporary two - way traffic lights between Motspur Park and Portland Avenue.  Motspur Park and Amberwood Rise will be closed at the junction with Malden Road signed diversion in place.  Buses will follow the diversion routes.  Motspur Park will be one - way for eastbound traffic between Malden Road and Purbeck Avenue, westbound traffic diverted via Purbeck Avenue and Chilmark Gardens.

• Phase 2 - Malden Road from Portland Avenue to Lyndhurst Drive

Temporary two - way traffic lights will move along Malden Road between Portland Avenue and Lyndhurst Drive.  Amberwood Rise and Motspur Park will reopen.  Portland Avenue will be temporarily closed at the junction with Malden Road and traffic diverted via Purbeck Avenue and Motspur Park.  Lyndhurst Drive will be closed at the junction with Malden Road and traffic diverted via Amberwood Rise and South Lane.

• Phase 3 - Malden Road from Lyndhurst Drive to South Lane

Temporary two - way traffic lights will move between Lyndhurst Drive and South Lane.  Previous road closures will be lifted.

South Lane will be closed at the junction with Malden Road and traffic will be diverted via Amberwood Rise.

• Phase 4 - Malden Road from South Lane to Church Road

South Lane will reopen and the temporary two - way traffic lights will be moved between South Lane and Church Road.  Traffic will not be able to join Malden Road from Church Road and a signed diversion will be in place.  It will still be possible to enter Church Road from Malden Road.

• Phase 5 - Malden Road from Church Road to Columbia Avenue

Final phase will be carried out under temporary traffic lights.  No road closures will be necessary.

Each phase is expected to last two or three weeks working normally 08:00 to 17:00 hours Monday to Friday and 08:00 to 13:00 hours on Saturdays. (Temporary Traffic Management in place 24/7).

North Cheam Festive event

As I tweeted on Saturday we headed off to the festive event which was held at North Cheam on Saturday to see what was on offer. As with the Worcester Park Christmas evening it was being run by the Outer London Fund and the most obvious thing different about the junction was the arty makeover of the derelict Victoria House, which made quite an impression on those present.

As far as the stall went there were a variety of stalls ranging from the professional to enthusiastic locals and while there were craft stalls there were zoomed in on the food stalls with jams, cheeses, meats and even sushi available. My star stall was the Giggly Pig stand with superb sausages ranging from the simple "Old English" on to "Rudolph's Revenge" with its chilli kick through to "Wow-Wow" which is an all out flamethrower assault on your palate. We took advantage of their "3 for £10" offer and absolutely loved them.

Brinkster Minor had his heart set on a mug that a "Young Enterprise" stand had on offer as a replacement for his recently broken one and the fact it came stuffed with chocolate didn't hurt his opinion of it so he parted with some cash in order to bag that.

We spotted local MP Paul Burstow in the throng together with his wife, Councillor Mary Burstow, and he was posting on Twitter as was Worcester Park Info though we must have just missed each other judging by our respective pictures.

As the event progressed various local shops decided to join in and put tables outside their shops and it had a really nice community feel about it

There was also a stand devoted to Victoria House and its impending renovation but I'm going to cover that separately so you'll need to stay tuned!

SW Trains deliver early Christmas present

@SW_Trains

An announcement just out. For tomorrow three services from Worcester Park will get a special 'oomph' to help tired commuters kickstart their morning.

On Wednesday 5 December as a result of a speed restriction in the Wimbledon area, the following Epsom-Waterloo train services will not call at Raynes Park, Wimbledon, Earlsfield, Clapham Junction and Vauxhall:  0722 Epsom-London Waterloo  0752 Epsom-London Waterloo  0822 Epsom-London Waterloo 
 These services are all expected to arrive at London Waterloo on time.  Customers who would normally use these services from Epsom, Ewell West, Stoneleigh, Worcester Park or Motspur Park to travel to Raynes Park, Wimbledon, Earlsfield, Clapham Junction or Vauxhall should either wait for an alternative train service or change at Motspur Park. 
 Further details on alternative train services can be found using the drop down boxes at the top of this page.  We are sorry for the inconvenience this will cause to your journey on Wednesday morning. 
Message Received :04/12/2012 19:51

For more information go here http://www.journeycheck.southwesttrains.co.uk/ or follow their feed on Twitter - https://twitter.com/sw_trains

That was the Worcester Park Christmas Evening - 2012

So did you have fun then at Worcester Park's Christmas evening? We heard Christmas carols, won cuddly toys on the tombola, drank mulled wine from Cheam Rotary club, got a goodie bag from Sean Hanna, chatted to Mis from The Vin Bin, didn't get a balloon animal of any shape or size (we left that to the little kids) and saw lots more besides.

Those who complained about previous Christmas festivities being overwhelmed by fairground rides had their wish come true and proceedings were dominated by local groups and businesses! I hope it worked out well for them and they put on a good show (did I mention the mulled wine?)

Mrs Brinkster was due to go out for the evening so we didn't make it any further up the road to see the Christmas shop or the pop-up shop so if you didn't make or, or did but can't remember much I've put together a short video!

Sutton Christmas Lights go on!

On Saturday myself and the younger Brinksters went in search of Christmas cheer in Sutton, which will seem to some of you to be an unlikely prospect I know, but buoyed up by the promise of Christmas lights and entertainment we bussed our way into town with bags full of expectation. The Brinksters were expecting an awesome Christmas evening while I....well..... wasn't, but was willing to be convinced.

With the Christmas lights due to be switched on at 6pm we got there in plenty of time to rumble through a couple of shops before heading up the hill to where the stage was set up as the youngest Brinkster was keen to claim a spot to so that he was sure of a good view.

Big weekend - Free Grit and Christmas Lights!

@SuttonGrit Twitter logo

This weekend is the last chance to get 10kg of free grit from Sutton Council so that, should the occasion arise during the winter months, you can use it to make safe your pavements and pathways. The nearest place to go from Worcester Park is the Kimpton Park Way recycling from 10-5 today or from 10-2 tomorrow.

At Kimpton Park Way residents have to bring their own container for the grit, but you can log on to www.sutton.gov.uk/kimptonwebcam to check if there is a queue before you go

Kimpton Park Way Reuse and Recycling Webcam - Live

In order to claim your free grit you will need to bring your council tax bill or a current utility bill. And anyone who wants to help an elderly friend or neighbour, or residents without cars, can bring along one of their bills and collect the grit on their behalf.

Residents who currently receive an assisted bin collection can have the grit delivered to them. Simply call 020 8770 5070 for details.

While you're at it you can follow @SuttonGrit on Twitter for the latest  information over the state of gritting in the borough and inform them if one of the council grit bins runs low. For more information take a look at the flyer below or visit http://www.sutton.gov.uk/gritting

While the turning on of the new Worcester Park Christmas lights is a week away you can get a foretaste of what's to come as Mrs Brinkster tells me that they've got the same lights down in Sutton. The official page is short on detail but says

Sutton Town Centre will get the party started on Saturday 24 November when the Mayor, Cllr Sean Brennan, will turn on the lights, accompanied by Father Christmas himself.

The lights will go on at 6pm marking the climax of the day's entertainment which will start at noon and include music, dance and extracts from theatrical festive favourites.

Another council page provides a little more details, such as a starting time and location

There will be festivities in Sutton High Street from 12noon. The Christmas Lights will be switched on, 6pm at Trinity Square, by Father Christmas and the Mayor of Sutton.

 If you're going to go all I can say is "Take a brolly".... and have fun

Tripping the light fan-plastic

One of the treats awaiting Worcester Parkers this Christmas is the new Christmas lights that we've been promised. The good news is that they're here and installed but instead of going for conventionally Christmassy theme such as angels, holly or even a snowflake they've gone for.... well.... take a look.

Apologies for the poor photo (I'm commuting in the dark at the minute) I'd have to call that "plastic and spiky" wouldn't you? If you can't tell what I'm referring to then I'm on about the things sticking out towards the top of the lamppost

Obviously they'll look better when they're actually turned on but I'm not persuaded that this is an improvement so far.

What do you think could make Worcester Park look more Christmassy?

The Eyes Have It

I notice that a variety of traffic monitoring cameras have sprung up on Central Road which is hopefully in response to the appalling traffic issues that have been noted in the local newspapers and many other places, including here.

I don't know whether it's coincidental that they've appeared just as the Worcester Park Mosque plans come close to the end of their consultation but either way the information will hopefully go towards coming up with a long-term solution to the traffic issues, help feed some genuine traffic data into the Mosque planning decision, plus it will potentially give any local bigots and conspiracy theorists something to keep them occupied while the rest of us get on with our lives.

I'm not holding out much hope for a change in the traffic situation but I hope they do find something practical that they can do.