South London: life on rat-run Clapham street where neighbours fear speeding car driver will kill pedestrian

Families living on the 20mph street in Clapham claim traffic has exploded since Transport for London (TfL) closed a nearby road to drivers in 2024.

The change banned motorists heading into Central London from turning right off the South Circular (A205) onto Klea Avenue—a route used by drivers to bypass a congested junction where the A205 meets Clapham Common South Side (A24). TfL claims it made the change in response to a request by Lambeth Council, which had faced years of complaints from residents of Klea Avenue about speeding cars using their quiet side street as a short cut.

But residents on nearby Elms Road claim that far from resolving the problem, TfL’s tweaks to traffic flow have pushed cars attempting to avoid the junction down their street. Joel Roach, 44, who lives on Elms Road, said: “It’s a matter of time until someone gets killed crossing the road because there’s cars hurtling down it at all times.

“It’s highly likely in the next 18 months that there will be an accident, a crash, someone getting knocked over on our road. For me it seems absolutely crazy that the council can wait for that sort of thing to happen before being forced into taking action.”

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The dad-of-two added: “There are lots of young families. I’ve got a nine-year-old and an 11-year-old. I’m always worried about them crossing on Elms Road because I’ve nearly been hit a couple of times by cars absolutely hammering down the road.

“There will always be a speeding problem on Elms Road. But when you double the amount of traffic that’s travelling on it, you’re seeing a huge increase in the number of speeding drivers as well.”

Linda Carling, who also lives on the street, said: “If you ask people to slow down, you usually get a two finger response. There’s a school on this road and I’m fearful there’s going to be an accident. It doesn’t seem to be on the council’s agenda to do anything about it which is frustrating.”

Before TfL’s introduction of a ‘no right turn’ on to Klea Avenue from the A205, sat navs would direct many drivers down Klea Avenue, then one of several side streets that connect to the A24. Mr Roach said that following TfL’s changes in 2024, sat navs began telling motorists to turn right off the A205 a few junctions earlier onto Rodenhurst Road. Drivers then make their way down Hambalt Road, Elms Crescent and finally Elms Road before they meet the A24.

While some residents want to see TfL ban right turns from the A205 to Rodenhurst Road, Mr Roach said he would prefer to see efforts going into slowing down traffic on Elms Road and the other affected streets. He explained: “The more you bring speed down, the less appealing Elms Road becomes for the big sat nav providers. Waze and Google Maps, once they’ve noticed traffic takes longer to progress along Elms Road, they will start suggesting more suitable ways for the traffic to flow.”

Local Labour councillor Alison Inglis-Jones said: “Seeing first-hand the effect of the 73 per cent increase in traffic, I take this issue very seriously. I will be pressing for commitment to an effective solution and timeline.”

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Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, the Labour-run council’s Cabinet Member responsible for streets, said she was ‘committed’ to dealing with traffic issues in the area and said the council would monitor traffic throughout spring. She added: “This will help us assess the impacts of various schemes and ensure that any proposed measures are informed by traffic conditions on the ground. We will take a coordinated, planned approach, looking at the whole area and implementing solutions that effectively respond to the needs of the community, mitigating any traffic displacement and reducing road danger.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “This scheme was delivered in response to a request from Lambeth Council to restrict traffic on Klea Avenue and Lynette Avenue, and we are continuing to support Lambeth Council to lessen the impact of traffic on roads in the surrounding areas.”