Greenway case studies
Ravensbourne Greenway
The need for a new greenway through Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham was identified by Sustrans in 2008 as part of a scoping study covering the wider area. The eastern part of the park (known locally as Summerhouse Meadows) suffered from
poor accessibility and was little used despite being a large and attractive open space.
The route was also prioritised for development because it would create a new connection between existing sections of the on-street cycle network and effectively form a new north-south route.
After designs were finalised and funding secured, the new 1 km long path was constructed in early 2010. The path was given a gravel surface rather than tarmac so it is in-keeping with the natural surroundings.
The scheme also included removing the park access gates, which previously made access to the park very difficult with a bike and impossible for many wheelchair users. These were replaced with chicanes that allow access to all, whilst ensuring that cyclists go slowly at access points.
Usage monitoring at the site has not yet been carried out, but anecdotal reports suggest a substantial increase in use by both walkers and cyclists.
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| before | after |
Downhills Park area greenway access improvements
As well as providing new and upgraded paths in parks and open spaces, greenways development often includes improving connections to green spaces by upgrading accesses and road crossings to make travel by bike or on foot easier.
In Haringey, there are plans to deliver a major greenway across much of the borough, improving east-west connections
and linking to many of the boroughs best open spaces.
As part of this project the Downhills Park area has seen a range of improvements which have made the existing good quality routes in the area more accessible and provided links to the park and key destinations, like the local school.
Schemes include:
- Remodelling the busy junction of Belmont Road and Downhills Park Road to slow traffic and improve conditions for walking and cycling.
- Provision of a new raised crossings with central reservations which greatly reduce the barrier that is formed by the busy roads.
- New shared footway areas to improve access to crossings and to Downhills Park
- Widening the pavement by Belmont School to improve access and stop parking in front of the school gates.
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| Before: poor crossing facilities and park access | After: new expansive shared footway connecting park to new crossing |
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| Before: parking problems in front of school gates | After: resolved by widening pavement |
Monitoring carried out at the site in the year following implementation of the scheme found that:
- 54 percent of walkers are walking more than they were before the scheme was implemented, and 18 percent are cycling more
- Almost 90 percent of users said that the ease of access was a factor influencing their usage of the route
- Many people said they were using the route for leisure purposes (40 percent) and 30 percent were commuting.
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