Forum Topic

Shopping Streets

On Saturday morning we we meet friends for coffee near Clapham Junction. St John's Avenue, the main shopping street there, looked vibrant and affluent, with - unlike Putney High Street- few if any empty shops. I wonder how much of that is is down to another difference: St John's Avenue is now buses only with regards to vehicles, whereas Putney High Street is often one polluting traffic jam? I'm sure there's other differences but being pedestrian friendly must be a significant factor?

Michael Ixer ● 365d25 Comments

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-for-all-programme#full-publication-update-history"from the station entrance to the platform" isn't really enough is it!?  There is the huge gap and height change and the humps on platforms or ramps that are still needed as well.  There is a railwaysforall email address here that might still work - you never know - or it might just lead to a black hole!

Philippa Bond ● 361d

But the M&S building is left empty just to remind us of what we once had. Just like Royal China it will haunt us for decades!

Ed Robinson ● 361d

One of the Reasons PHS went downhill is ,No M&S anymore 😩

Vic Condon ● 361d

It’s the high street that is a reflection of the people that use it. Sorry, but if the vape Shops, mobile shops and general tat shops are going ok, then that is part of the reason. The other is that Putney Bridge is and always has been the busiest bridge out towards Surrey. Born and bred over 60 years ago - it has certainly changed!  It’s sad.

Michele Leighton ● 361d

It is not always to do with budgets.Some of it is just joined up planning and prioritisation.According to my response from TFL FOI concerning Barnes Station and step free access from the bus stops - they have no plans despite NR plans being published for years.It doesn't appear that they & other councils have done a cost to benefit study in expanding the 20mph rollout to almost every road.

Ed Robinson ● 362d

I agree about fragmentation and arguments between budgets.https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/step-free-access  Change is happening.  There are a lot of stations still to go.  It would be interesting to hear where some of the other funding is coming from.

Philippa Bond ● 362d

Barbara. They haven't yet held a vote on whether to strike so buses should be running as normal at present.

Michael Ixer ● 362d

@ Barbara  I can still hire a car or borrow one and drive it should I really need to.  I just prefer not to.  We need better and more accessible public transport so that our streets aren't choked with cars.  The tubes have become a lot more accessible with the new maps and guides for stepless routes and for which stations have ramps available.

Philippa Bond ● 362d

I must admit it is a bit spooky walking back at night to Barnes station after a performance at the Arts Centre on Barnes Green - I suppose as someone who supports the BAA's CfDS I can't really complain about the lack of light pollution although perhaps a few lights could be added to Barnes and the new lights at Fulham Football ground reflecting off the Thames could be turned off when there's no match on?https://flic.kr/p/2pZA9SBYes, there's no lift to the bus stop in Barnes but Barnes station will have lifts for wheelchair access to the path to Barnes centre. I believe Fleur's campaign, as an excellent constituency MP, has now got East Putney on the list of stations to have lifts, but with current spending limits that could be a decade or two away. It (a lift at Barnes) would probably be easier if SWR were integrated into TfL but I think it was Grant Schapps who blocked TfL Rail acquiring the franchise even though a previous Tory transport minister had agreed it; that is ideology at its worst ... I remember talking to a consultant at an open evening when Putney station ticket hall was being extended over the platforms and lifts installed: I think network rail own the station so do infrastructure work, SWR operate it so determine the retail outlets, and if the Oxford Road entry us ever implemented Wandsworth Council might be asked to contribute to funding ... fragmentation means arguing over which budget so nothing happens quickly, if at all :-(

Michael Ixer ● 362d

Get a bus they say, look on front page of forum, lists of all the garages going on strike and their routes.

Barbara Stevens ● 363d

You don't have a car Philippa so don't answer, open Hammersmith Bridge and Putney where you don't live will have less traffic. After Wandsworth Bridge shutting lanes and Hammersmith Bridge, everything has been coming over Chiswick Bridge. It was madness widening the pavements in Putney High St. Upper Richmond rd if an Ambulance or emergency vehicle needs to pass there is room to pull over for them, even if it is into a cycle lane.

Barbara Stevens ● 363d

Michael,I understand you do live very close to Putney centre - not many dark streets to walk down etc, plus train & tube and lots of buses. I'm not suggesting even that is safe looking at the crime maps, but perhaps better than getting off at Barnes station where even in spring/summer visibility is poor during no mow months. Plus there is no step free access from the bus because its a low Mayor priority.A congestion charge (not high - return bus fare level) on all private cars at peak times within the S/N circular would have been preferable to ULEZ expansion IMO.With high crime you can not expect to attract and retain retailers. Reduce crime and confidence may return. But with many shops having more security than checkout staff - it doesn't look good.Wandsworth at long last are going to allocate parking spaces to e-bikes but only near high streets. Better than nothing but why not borough wide - every street? The current situation is unsatisfactory for both pedestrians and e-bike users. Of course you could take your own bike but it or all of it may not be their when you get back!

Ed Robinson ● 363d

Agreed, John K, although modern living and the way society has evolved does make it difficult for some to live without cars - school runs, shift working, etc. However, I certainly don't regret no longer being a car owner - impossible, expensive parking,  intolerable traffic jams, high levels of car thefts, escalating insurance costs - and have found Zipcar a convenient service when I have needed a car.And,  yes, internet shopping has evolved to  now be a convenient way of purchasing groceries and many other goods. I remember the days of the weekly drive from East Putney to Wandsworth the Sainsbury's supermarket.  I also remember being at a Microsoft meeting in Seattle circa 1999 when they were holding up the Sainsbury shopping website as an example of their UK innovations and having to say that driving their and back, and picking my own goods was still more convenient,  perhaps quicker, than their "clunky" website over a V90 dial up modem and receiving unwanted, random, substitutions :-) Ocado seem to have sorted it out ... just waiting for FTTP Internet in Putney ...

Michael Ixer ● 363d

Owning a car once used to be something to aspire to when there were fewer on the roads but for many it no longer is.  For many it s something else to worry about even if it is affordable.  For others once they've bought one and paid all the necessaries they feel the need to use it.  What we need is to make sure we have good and accessible alternatives to deter unnecessary usage.

Philippa Bond ● 363d

Like most things the answer is not one extreme (gridlock) or the other (banning cars).The answer is to incentivise the people who don't have to use their cars to not use their cars. This makes it more pleasant for everyone (pedestrians, cyclists, shoppers, etc) and leaves the roads emptier for buses, trams, cycles and the few people who do HAVE to use their cars for a particular journey (elderly, infirm, trades people, etc).For example, I used to drive to go grocery shopping as the first few times I used the supermarket deliveries I got fruit/vegetables/etc that I wouldn't have picked myself, so I wanted to be in control of what I was given. However, the vast bulk of my shopping are things that I don't need to hand pick. So big bulky/heavy things (toilet paper, tins, washing powder, etc) I get delivered and then I can go out on foot and public transport to shop for the remaining smaller fresh items locally.

John Kettlekey ● 363d

Mr Ixer'Putney High Street is often one polluting traffic jam?'I agree; a most unpleasant place to shop or walk down.On the other hand it is of course the direct route to Putney Bridge and hence to Chelsea, Fulham (and FFC!).No other way to cross the Thames at this point so in my mind, a solution to its deficiencies is difficult to envisage.Unless you do ban cars from using the High Street in which case how or where do they make the crossing ?Forcing them to use another bridge is a bit nimbyish is it not ?

John Hawkes ● 363d

The long-time challenge is and has been for many years finding alternative uses to increase footfall now that shopping has changed so much as has the number of people with the time and ability to wander up and down shopping streets since we are now all expected to be "hard-working" and tax-paying for so much longer of our longer lives.  I don't think it is very desirable to have that "need" as an excuse or encouragement to get pregnant in order to leave an unsatisfying/poor-paying/stressful job either.Many use "coffee shops" to work in and most coffee shops offer other things to drink and eat including decaffeinated drinks and they do make great meeting places.  They may even host mend and repair sessions of many things eg sewing and knitting and including important mobile phone/tech sessions.  There are fewer libraries nowadays and accessible buildings can be hard to find.

Philippa Bond ● 364d

Unfortunately only Reform have a specific policy for high streets.It's not a plug for Reform, it just shows how bad the other parties are. They have had decades to think of some.

Ed Robinson ● 365d

You're probably correct, Martine; it's not just Putney where or the traffic that's causing this. There's been a lot of changes recently in how people purchase clothes, groceries, food, etc and I think landlords are also an issue with unrealistic rents and requirements of the types tenants they want.Mr Google (and my memory from when I did CISI AML courses) was that small, mainly cash, businesses (they used to cite laundromats but there's not many of those now) could be used as vehicles for money laundering. Which isn't to say that's the case for all vape and other small shops - there's an alternative theory that tobacco companies are bankrolling vape shops! However, there do seem to be some cases of vape shops transgressing other regulations:https://www.tradingstandards.uk/news-policy-campaigns/news-room/2023/illicit-vapes-top-list-of-high-street-threats-say-trading-standards-experts/https://www.lincs.police.uk/news/lincolnshire/news/2024/apr-2024/closure-orders-why-we-use-them/

Michael Ixer ● 365d

I am always surprised at the shops that they have at Clapham Junction.  I think East Sheen is a better shopping experience too, these days. However, seeing the state of many high streets these days, I don’t think it’s anything to do with the traffic.  I go to Wimbledon more often these days and the shopping centre has lost so many shops, it is a bit sad looking. Isn’t it amazing how we lost good shops on PHS, but somehow the shops selling vapes, luggage and general crap are able to survive without ever appearing to have any customers in them!?

Martine Guy ● 365d

PHS is just a pollution filled sh*thole. Sorry to say it because I love living here but the high street is awful. Why on earth anyone would consider sitting outside and having a coffee while two lanes of traffic crawl past is beyond me.

Michael Brigo ● 365d

Yes Michael, but so many food and coffee shops, no shops windows to look in. One coffee a day for me, prefer clothes and shoes. Ravel, Freeman Hardy and Willis, Dolces and many more. Debenhams, BHS, Littlewoods, C & A. All gone, madness.

Barbara Stevens ● 365d

Sorry, Barbara, I meant St John's Road! Clapham Junction was chosen as friends live in Clapham Junction and Balham so it was sort of midway for everyone. Yes,I often frequent the many coffee shops in Putney.

It was just an observation. I believe with the increasing number of coffee shops and fast food outlets, etc in PHS there may be fewer empty retail outlets now.

Michael Ixer ● 365d

Where is St.Johns Ave, don't you mean St.Johns Hill.

Barbara Stevens ● 365d

How many times has this got to be put on here, Michael not everybody can get about like you do. More traffic due to the closure of Hammersmith Bridge. Open that then there will be less traffic. Your meeting friends, who wants to go to Clapham for a coffee, there are enough in our High Street, so many food shops and nothing else.

Barbara Stevens ● 365d