Ikea road signage

The request was successful.

Darryl Chamberlain

Dear Transport for London,

Could you please send me all documentation submitted by Ikea or its agent for road signage to appear on the TfL road network to comply with section seven of the third schedule of the legal agreement it has with Greenwich Council to build and occupy its store in Greenwich (page 34: https://charltonchampion.files.wordpress...). Could you also please indicate when this documentation was received, and when the signage will be erected.

If there has been no documentation sent by Ikea, could you please state what is being done to address highway constraints on the Woolwich Road roundabout and Peartree Way to honour this commitment.

Many thanks for your help.

Yours faithfully,

Darryl Chamberlain

FOI, Transport for London

Dear Darryl Chamberlain

 

Our ref: FOI-3106-1819/GH

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 14
February 2019 asking for information about Ikea road signage.

 

Your request will be processed in accordance with the requirements of the
Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. 

 

A response will be sent to you by 14 March 2019. We publish a substantial
range of information on our website on subjects including operational
performance, contracts, expenditure, journey data, governance and our
financial performance. This includes data which is frequently asked for in
FOI requests or other public queries. Please check
[1]http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/transpar... to see if this helps you.

 

We will publish anonymised versions of requests and responses on the
[2]www.tfl.gov.uk website. We will not publish your name and we will send
a copy of the response to you before it is published on our website.

 

In the meantime, if you would like to discuss this matter further, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Graham Hurt

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

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FOI, Transport for London

5 Attachments

Dear Darryl Chamberlain

 

Our ref: FOI-3106-1819/GH

 

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 14
February 2019 asking for information about Ikea road signage.

 

Your request has been considered under the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and our information access policy. I can confirm that
we do hold the information you require.

 

Could you please send me all documentation submitted by Ikea or its agent
for road signage to appear on the TfL road network to comply with section
seven of the third schedule of the legal agreement it has with Greenwich
Council to build and occupy its store in Greenwich (page 34:
https://charltonchampion.files.wordpress...).
Could you also please indicate when this documentation was received, and
when the signage will be erected.

 

All documents that were submitted by Ikea or their agent to the Royal
Borough of Greenwich and the Greater London Authority (GLA) are freely
available on the websites below. These include information on signage.

 

Royal Borough of Greenwich - Under planning reference: 13/3285/O

[1]https://planning.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/o...

 

GLA:
[2]https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/pla...

 

We can also provide the attached documents that we hold within TfL.
Although these were not provided to us by Ikea or their agent, they are
public and may be of interest:

 

·         F29-HJ-Signage Strategy – this was provided to us by the Royal
Borough of Greenwich and was submitted by Vectos (Ikea’s agent) in January
2019

·         14-0143 IKEA Greenwich Transport Assessment Report – produced by
Vectos – the document was issued in December 2013

·         Our initial response to the proposals – February 2014

·         Our response to the stage 2 proposals – April 2014

 

Could you please state what is being done to address highway constraints
on the Woolwich Road roundabout and Peartree Way to honour this
commitment.

 

Background Information

 

During the planning review of the Ikea application in 2014 we did raise
concerns about the impact of Ikea traffic on the Angerstein Roundabout.
Our preference was for Ikea to influence a higher proportion of drivers to
use Blackwall Lane to access the store rather than the Angerstein
Roundabout. As with any new store it will take time for numbers and
routing advice to settle. We also are very supportive of Ikea’s promotion
of alternatives to car access to the store though again it will take time
for that message to influence customers.

 

The 2014 Transport Assessment proposed signage strategy was to identify
the retail area rather than a specific shop for drivers using the A102.
TfL policy is minimise signage clutter on the highway as this may confuse
drivers or drivers may ignore signage if there is too much information.
TfL approach to signage is guided by national policy and TfL published
guidance
[3]https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publication...

 

Signage on the network that constitutes advertising may also require
consent from the planning authorities, though some branded names may be
also well known location names – for example the 02 Arena. Due to the
issues raised we are in discussion with Ikea (via Vectos) and Royal
Borough of Greenwich about the best signage strategy for the area. We may
be able to agree to some temporary signage on the network to help guide
drivers in the shorter term. Our approach is to co-operate with retail
operators (and others) to minimise impact on users of our network and to
act reasonably.

 

To note,

 

On submission of the Signage Strategy document Vectos and Royal Borough of
Greenwich were advised of the following guidance:

 

“The guidance regarding placing signs on the TLRN is that signs for
commercial operators or retail parks are often not permitted for one or
more of the following reasons:

 

·         The entrance of the venue is clearly visible from the approach
roads (eg totem pole advertising)

·         The venue is typical of the region and so does not warrant
individual signs (eg several retail parks)

·         Although large, the venue is still considered to be of local
importance only (eg a hypermarket)

·         The venue is in an area where the presence of other large
regional destinations make it impractical to add the site to the
directional signs

·         Where two or more retail parks are to be signed at a junction
they will not be named individually, but will be identified as “Retail
Parks”.

·         As in the case of any destination, visitors are expected to plan
the route to the address they are given and make reference to existing
directional signs.

·         Retail park operators should therefore promote a valid address
combined with navigational instructions based on existing signed
destinations and landmarks.

 

Based on the above guidance I cannot recommend that IKEA signs are erected
on the TLRN. An option worth considering is for appropriate direction
signs to be placed on the IKEA website, and/or a postcode that encourages
sat-navs to naturally use Blackwall Lane

 

In addition to working with Vectos and the borough on potential temporary
signs we have also actioned the following:

 

·         Amended the traffic signal timings at the interchanges with
A102/ Angerstein Roundabout, A102/Blackwall Lane and the junctions with
Bugsby’s Way and Peartree way.

 

·         The junctions at Blackwall Lane and the western access from
Bugsby’s Way - as part of a RB Greenwich scheme we are installing our
dynamic traffic signal control system (SCOOT) that allows traffic signal
timings to be changed in real time depending on the traffic conditions.
This is in progress.

 

·         At the eastern access from Peartree Way the traffic signals are
being upgraded so that we can control them via our central computer system
– in the meantime we have changed to pre programmed timings to help with
the traffic flow. The upgrade is in progress,

 

·         We are also working with Ikea’s traffic management lead and the
borough to refine their car park loading plan, this has helped to reduce
congestion on the approach roads by getting vehicles into the car park
quicker and loading it from one end. Initially Ikea put in a one way
system with no communication with TfL or the borough and which
unfortunately then worked against all the traffic signal strategies we had
prepared for the opening event.

 

·         We highlighted a safety issue to both the borough and Ikea where
traffic was travelling the wrong way down a bus lane; since this had
happened signage and white lining has been enhanced to make it clearer to
drivers not to use the bus lane.”

 

If you are not satisfied with this response please see the attached
information sheet for details of your right to appeal.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Graham Hurt

 

FOI Case Officer

FOI Case Management Team

General Counsel

Transport for London

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://planning.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/o...
2. https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/pla...
3. https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publication...
4. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/

Darryl Chamberlain

Dear FOI,

Many thanks for this comprehensive response, it's much appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Darryl Chamberlain