Minutes:
PC Gary Washington told the assembly that they are currently undergoing a re-shuffle and soon there will be an additional dedicated ward officer for Blackheath.
There have been some problems in the Village with Motorbikes and Quad Bikes, four people have been arrested for failing to stop. In London Bridge they have used tyre deflation devices resulting in 17 bikes immobilised so this is something we can look at if the issue persists.
There will be a heavy police presence for Blackheath Fireworks.
There is currently a man knocking doors stating his wife is ill and that he needs money to get to see her in hospital, this is a scam and he has been arrested for this before.
All officers are now being issued with cameras these are always recording and very useful to us for evidence.
Q Are you enforcing the new 20mph speed limit?
A As local officers we are not generally equipped to deal with speeding, but if it is persistent we can deal with it by taking the vehicle off the road and getting the speedometer calibrated. There is a Speed Gun at the Police Station and officers are being trained to use it, it needs calibrating and this is being done. Overall it is Traffic Officers who deal with speeding, albeit, their resources have been cut and their main priority has to be Road Traffic accidents.
Q Many people in roads such as Lee Terrace are driving over 20mph and in some cases over 30mph, is there anything you can do?
A We have stopped motorists in partnership with the Lewisham Road Safety Team, but we cannot take enforcement as we cannot say exactly how fast they are going.
Q Some patrol cars are clearly not driving 20mph, can you look at this?
A They should be driving at 20mph unless on an emergency, so I will take this back.
Q What about cyclists on the pavement?
A If I can I will ask them to get off the bike, but we can penalise them if you want me to look at this. I can also talk to the Safer Transport Team.
Cllr De Ryk – It may be worth talking to the Lewisham Cyclist Network and I can take this back
Lewisham Cyclists – We don’t condone this type of cycling but remember that sometimes it can be very dangerous for cyclists with a pavement becoming a refuge.
Cllr De Ryk – We can monitor this and ask PC Washington to come back with an update.
Q Can we be told which roads are 20mph and which are 30mph as it can be confusing?
A Generally the smaller roads are council roads and are 20mph, the main roads are TfL and are 30mph.
Cllr De Ryk other boroughs are now implementing 20mph limits, there is an issue with air quality in the cities and there is an aspiration to slow traffic down to create better traffic flow, this is the science behind the speed reduction.