Public engagement (Nov to Dec 2014)
We commissioned We Are Waterloo to lead on a series of public engagement events for:
- businesses
- residents
- passers-by and visitors
- other stakeholders in and impacted by the project area.
The aim was to engage with a broad spectrum of local groups and individuals to raise awareness of the project, gauge initial feedback on the concepts and help guide a more informed preliminary design.
We didn’t approach the engagement with any preconceived ideas about what we wanted, rather, we used the engagement as a way of identifying what people liked, what they didn’t like and what they would like to see achieved by the project within the scope area.
In late 2014, four public engagement events were held in the area on:
- 25 November - Baylis Road outside Lambeth North Underground Station
- 26 November - Adddington Street Roundabout corner of Station Approach
- 27 November - Outside Morley College on Westminster Bridge Road
- 4 December - Emma Cons Gardens.
These engagement events were complimented by a number of resident and business group consultations in the area.
People were asked to simply highlight to us what they liked with a green sticker, didn’t like with a red sticker, and what they would like to see improved noted on the sticker.
Over the course of the public engagement, about 400 people spoke to us about the project.
Read a summary of the Stage 1 Public Engagement Report
The key issues that were identified included:
Lambeth North junction
- Poor design and confusing for pedestrians.
- Unsafe and a lack of crossing facilities.
The junction between Westminster Bridge Road, Upper Marsh, and Carlisle Lane
- Busy, noisy and confusing for pedestrians.
- Creates a disconnect with the western side of Waterloo.
The tunnels - Westminster Bridge, Carlisle Lane and Upper Marsh
- Negativity to tunnels in regard to their cleanliness, noise, dampness and dinginess.
- People feel unsafe using these pedestrian connections due to poor lighting.
Addington Street roundabout
- Poor and unsafe crossing facilities for pedestrians.
With these issues in mind, we were able to develop a design brief so that some concept designs could be developed.