A decision by the local authority on the proposal is due to be made in late June, and two of TfL's concept images can be found below.
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Better Access At Amersham
As part of its obligation to improve disabled access to its facilities, Transport for London has submitted a planning application to build a new foot bridge incorporating two lifts over the line at Amersham station.
A decision by the local authority on the proposal is due to be made in late June, and two of TfL's concept images can be found below.
A decision by the local authority on the proposal is due to be made in late June, and two of TfL's concept images can be found below.
That red brick is lovely! Fits the surroundings well. Impressive that they are not going for something cheap and pre-fab.
ReplyDeleteFrom the image it looks like there is a very narrow section of platform remaining next to the lift - particularly on the right side of the picture.
ReplyDeleteNow, I am no expert, but I hope they do their maths right, it would be a shame if they had to demolish it all again after it was built like they did with the wall at Shepherds Bush becasue the platform becomes too narrow.
I was thinking the same thing - that looks far too narrow.
ReplyDeletethe narrow platform at Shepherd's Bush Overground station was Network Rail and their contractor's fault not TfL or London Underground.
ReplyDeleteThe lifts at Finchley Central are also impressivly built (although I wouldn't call them lovely - that's due to my taste, I guess).
ReplyDeleteI tried to get the planning appplication out of the Bucks. council website, but there doesn't seem to be a record of it. I'm guessing the photomontage with the narrow platfom is just an error.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like it was built decades ago!
ReplyDeletehttps://isa.chiltern.gov.uk/WAM/showCaseFile.do?appType=Planning&appNumber=CH/2009/0509/UA
ReplyDeleteis where I got the pictures from
The plan says 2.55m on both platforms, which is less than the original width at Shepherd's Bush (2.7m).
ReplyDeleteIs it still 1976 in Amersham? Or is it just so far away that it takes over 30 years to get photos back from it? ;)
ReplyDeleteunless they are verified views - simple photomontages used to aid the planning process have a large degree of error...
ReplyDeleteonly rely on the drawings which are at scale or dimensioned...
Am I the only one who thinks its a bit of a waste of money building things like this?
ReplyDeleteSure, make new stations step free, but given the sheer number of stations that can never be be wheelchair friendly means underground will never be the transport of choice for those in wheelchairs.
How about spending the undoubtably hundreds of thousands this will cost on something that will improve the Underground for the vast majority of travellers and not the 0.1% who are wheelchair bound.
In fact the only station that a Wheelchair user will be able to travel to on the Met Line after this work will be Kings Cross.
ReplyDeleteGiven the obvious pressures on budgets at the moment I think schemes like this should be scrutinised severely. Ho many users will be expected each day to use these new facilities?
To be honest, the current footbridge facilities at Amersham aren't capable of handling the number of peak hour users. Whenever a train comes in from London in the evening, there is a long queue to get over the bridge to platform 3 and people trying to get to platforms 1 and 2 are prevented from doing so by the sheer numbers.
ReplyDeleteI suspect this is not just about providing disabled access, but about increasing capacity overall, in which case providing disabled facilities at the same time makes perfect sense.
I wonder why people think a second bridge will improve access for the many commuters who need to cross over in the evening (you're not the first person I've heard mention it) - what are you going to do when you get to the gateline and subsequent door? You'll just spend more time on platform 3 than on platform 1 and 2.
ReplyDeleteKings Cross isn't the only station a wheelchair-bound person will be able to travel from, how about more local stations like Chalfont & Latimer and Chorleywood, both of which are step free? It also means that people can travel toward Aylesbury more easily.
ReplyDeleteSome people do make local journeys, not everyone goes into London.
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ReplyDeleteIn fact the only station that a Wheelchair user will be able to travel to on the Met Line after this work will be Kings Cross.Chesham, Chalfont & Latimer, Chorleywood, Pinner, and Wembley Park are already accessible stations on the Metropolitan Line in addition to Kings Cross.
ReplyDeleteBy transferring onto the Hammersmith & City Line you could also travel to West Ham, East Ham, Barking.
By then transferring onto the District Line you could also travel to Upney, Dagenham Heathway, Elm Park, and Upminster.
Or by transfering onto the Central Line you could also travel to Stratford, Woodford, and Epping
By transferring at Wembley Park onto the Jubilee Line you could also travel to Stanmore, Kilburn, Westminster, Waterloo, Southwark, London Bridge, Bermondsey, Canada Water, Canary Wharf, North Greenwich, Canning Town, West Ham, and Stratford.
By transferring onto the DLR you would have access to the entire network.
By transferring at Westminster to the District Line you would have access to Earl's Court, Kensington (Olympia), Fulham Broadway, Wimbledon, Hammersmith, Kew Gardens, Richmond, Acton Town, Hounslow East, Hounslow West, and Heathrow Airport.
Not to mention the journeys made available by transfer to Overground and National Rail services.
This also excludes interchange at Kings Cross to the Victoria, Piccadilly, and Northern Lines which should be possible by the time the work is completed at Amersham, as well as any other stations made accessible.
As much as they like to whinge about it, the vast majority of travellers are pretty well served, so no, I do not agree it is a waste of money. (And no, I do not use a wheelchair.)
Also, these lifts will not only be used by wheelchair users. They can be also used by those with walking difficulties, the blind, those with pushchairs and those carrying larger luggage. So the cost of these projects is certainly justified.
ReplyDelete