Road to Nowhere
| Friday 23 April, 2004 |
The Transport for London website promises a 'fully pedestrianised bus station.' No mention though of a grotesque gridiron structure reaching upwards to spoil the Southbank skyline.
 It will become South London Pigeon Shit Central |
It certainly serves no purpose, apart from becoming South London Pigeon Shit Central in years to come (that's assuming our filth infested feather friends choose to make the mass migration from Streatham).
Any improvement to the notoriously bad transport infrastructure at the Cross has to be welcomed. This latest eyesore though isn't exactly going to help to improves Vauxhall's image as a place you pass through in order to escape.
But will the Vauxhall Veranda actually improve the transport interchange? Probably not if you are part of London's commuting underclass, aka a cyclist. To negotiate the criss-cross lane jumping at Vauxhall Cross on two wheels you need to be a veteran of the old computer game classic Frogger; you're damned if you do (stay in lane) and you're damned if you don't (and attempt a last minute lane jump to carry on ahead along the Embankment).
And let's not even get into the farce of the cycle lanes along South Lambeth Road which terminate abruptly with a bus shelter at one end. And all of this comes AFTER the major road works that were steamrolled through to make the junction compliant with the Congestion Charge.
Vauxhall has so much more to celebrate – The Oval, Vauxhall City Farm and The Tavern, where 'bent as an iron girder' may just fit well into the new SW8 lexicon.
(click on thumbs to see large image)
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