Church Road’s fully operational pedestrian crossing – a rare sight of a crossing as it should appear on this busy road

Loyal reader ANDY HEBDEN went for a walk in the rain along Church Road and was struck… well, fortunately not by a car, although he was confused by the various states of pedestrian crossings along the route

I thought I’d share with you a mysterious and somewhat baffling situation near where I live in beautiful Upper Norwood.

Church Road, linking Beulah Hill and the Crystal Palace triangle, is one of Upper Norwood’s busier roads. I’ve had the pleasure of strolling down it many a time.

While doing so, my wife and I have been struck by the seemingly random “safe” crossing points along its length.

They are, from the direction of Beulah Hill, as follows:

The crossing near All Saints’, with its yellow Belisha beacons wrapped up

Near All Saints’ Church – there are Belisha beacons but no “Zebra” stripes along the road

Upper Beulah Hill – with fully working beacons and stripes.

Near Sylvan Hill. Again, Belisha beacon carefully covered up

Near Sylvan Hill – two beacons, one of which is white, no stripes, though at the crossing point, in common with the other five crossings, there are the studded paving tiles to guide those with sight disabilities. On Church Road, though, five times out of six they simply guide unsighted people into a busy road where there is no crossing.

A bit of a mess with the temporary roadworks cone, another intended Zebra crossing which has the beacons covered up and no crossing marks on the road. This near a GP’s practice

Near Upper Norwood Group Practice surgery – all beacons bagged in black bin-liners, no stripes.

Guests at the Queen’s Hotel might be justifiably confused by the crossing outside

Queen’s Hotel (my apostrophe; they offer both with and without) – three beacons, two bagged, one white.

By Fox Hill. Are you prepared to run the risk of crossing the road here

Near Fox Hill – two beacons, one bagged, one white.

My wife and I have discussed at some length the possible reasons for this variation.

It could be that all crossings were planned but the idea was scrapped. Perhaps the council simply ran out of money? Or interest? They could also have forgotten about them. It’s possible that the crossings are on a “to do” list at the Town Hall. It is also conceivable that the council’s roads department do not know what they are doing.

We have checked, and all the crossings along the road are the obligation of Croydon Council, rather than Transport for London.

It’s worth pointing out that this situation has been in place for more than two years. All but the beacons at the striped crossing are unlit (or they are set for incredibly long intervals).

I’m not of the opinion that Church Road needs six working crossings, but the seemingly haphazard and half-baked current situation is intriguing, and even something of a mess.

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Coming to Croydon

• Mythical Maze stories, Crystal Palace Maze, Aug 27
• Festival of books, Central Library, Aug 27-30
• David Lean Cinema: Frank, Aug 28
• Upper Norwood Library well-being groups, Aug 30
• David Lean Cinema: The Two Faces of January, Sep 4
• David Lean Cinema: Fading Giglolo, Sep 6
• Thornton Heath Festival, Sep 7
• Stop the Incinerator Quiz Night, Sep 8
• David Lean Cinema: Camille Claudel, Sep 11
• Warlingham rugby dinner with international Richard Hill, Sep 12
• Soul Symphony Community Choir sessions, Sep 16-Dec 23
• Norwood Society Talk: War Memorials, Sep 18
• David Lean Cinema: Chef, Sep 18
• Cinema Ruskin film show, Sep 20
• South Croydon business breakfast, Sep 20
• Open House London weekend, Sep 20-21
• David Lean Cinema: A Night At The Cinema in 1914, Sep 22
• Activity to Work back-to-work workshops, Sep 23
• David Lean Cinema: Jimmy’s Hall, Sep 25
• Streatham Common 6M race, Sep 27
• Fancy dress family funday, Sep 28
• Norwood Society Talk: From Fire Station to Theatre, Oct 16
• Cinema Ruskin film show, Oct 18
• South Croydon business breakfast, Oct 18
• South Croydon business breakfast, Nov 15
• Norwood Society Talk: Lambeth’s Archives, Nov 20
• South Croydon business breakfast, Dec 13
• South Croydon business breakfast, Jan 24

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