‘It’s not a problem until someone dies’: Southwark residents want lorries banned from their street

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents fear someone will be killed unless a council bans lorries from “racing” down their narrow one-way road.

People living in Thrale Street in Southwark claim hundreds of vehicles, including giant construction trucks, use their small road as a cut-through to turn on to Southwark Bridge every day.

They say many of the lorries are too big for the narrow stretch of road and have to mount the curb to fit down the street, which leaves the pavement broken up and puts pedestrians at risk of being crushed.

Residents claim the problem has been ongoing for years but got worse when Transport for London (TfL) closed London Bridge to cars, vans and lorries in 2020, which they say pushed traffic on to Southwark Bridge.

They’re now calling on Southwark council to ban large vehicles from their road to improve safety.

They also want TfL to allow cars to turn right on to Southwark Bridge Road from Southwark Street, so that drivers no longer have to use their street to get on to the bridge.

Judith McCallum, 61, who has lived in Thrale Street since 1985, said: “It’s not a problem, until someone dies. Something needs to be done before there’s an accident.

“I’ve got six grandchildren who come to my house all the time and I can’t let them play outside.

“There’s a hotel nearby and all the tourists come down here. There’s always people walking in the middle of the road because the pavements are narrow.

“The vehicles go as quickly as they can because they’re trying to beat the traffic lights. Sometimes around 45 miles per hour.

“Hundreds of vehicles come down that road on a daily basis. It’s destroying the pavement, too. They repair the pavement and within weeks it’s broken again because of the large lorries.

“It’s industrial vehicles, construction trucks. The road is all cracked because the vehicles coming down are too heavy.”

Ms McCallum’s neighbour, John McIntosh, also 61, added: “They had to put bollards outside our homes because you were at risk of stepping outside your house into a lorry before.

“It’s dangerous. Someone could get hit by one of them. I work nights and I have problems sleeping because of the noise. It’s constant. It’s a lot worse since they closed London Bridge.”

Ms McCallum says the problem is exacerbated by delivery drivers who wait in the middle of the road when collecting orders from restaurants which back into Thrale Street.

TfL declined to comment. Southwark council has been contacted but did not comment before publication.

Pictured top: John McIntosh and Judith McCallum in Thrale Street, Southwark (Picture: Robert Firth)