Razing Merton Road's raised crossing

A few days ago I was in Hanford Close, a council estate on the edge of the Southfields Grid at the corner of Brookwood Road and Merton Road - opposite Southfields Community College.

Last year the Conservative Council decided to raise the zebra crossing here, no doubt with the well-meaning intention of making motorists better aware of the large number of school pupils crossing Merton Road here.

These are laudable aims but a questionable way of tackling a problem I'm not sure ever existed.

The consequence is that while cars do slow to avoid any damage as they go over the raised crossing, lorries have no need to do so, and so slam over the crossing at all hours. That creates a huge din loud enough to wake Hanford Close residents in the early hours of the morning.

If the crossing prevents road traffic accidents then that may be a price worth paying for the disturbance. But I doubt there was a problem with the old crossing before it was raised. I find it hard to believe that motorists failed to spot the crossing, the flashing lights and the bright markings when it was flush to the road surface; nor am I aware of any road traffic accidents here prior to it being raised up.

And if raising a crossing has such a dramatic impact saving lives, why hasn't the council raised all crossings around the borough, or even just those near schools and colleges?

I've written to the council asking them to review this crossing, or provide clear evidence that raising the crossing up in itself has produced significant road safety benefits that outweigh the detrimental impact on the residents of Hanford Close of what is effectively a super-road hump.

The residents of Hanford Close and I look forward to hearing from them.