Crystal Palace Local

CRYSTAL PALACE STATION  is to get a lift - literally!
The works will include new lifts at the station and the reopening and
refurbishment of the original Victorian ticket hall.

Labour London Assembly transport spokesperson Val Shawcross ,who received a petition bearing over 600 signatures calling for the
works from Lewisham West and Penge Labour MP Jim Dowd last July said:   ‘I’ve heard from many local people that the access issues put them
off using Crystal Palace station at all which is a great shame.

"I hope that better access and an easier journey for anyone with a mobility difficulty,
child in a pushchair or just heavy luggage, will encourage more people to
use this beautiful station and visit this great area with all the amenities
it has to offer – including of course, Crystal Palace park and the National
Sports Centre – particularly pertinent as we approach the 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic games.

"Crystal Palace station is arguably the most
inaccessible on the network currently, and a huge number of local people
want to see these works take place. "I am delighted and also want to thank
all those residents who took the time to collect signatures for the
petition I was given to present to the London Assembly in the summer".

While the majority of the works are funded from the Transport for London business plan, proposals
for Platform 1 required further expenditure, which has been funded by the Department for Transport.

*On July 5th 2011 Transport for All and a coalition of local disabled residents and parents with pushchairs staged a demonstration outside Crystal Palace station.
They were calling on the Mayor of London and Chair of Transport for London Boris Johnson to ensure that funds are made available to provide step free access to platforms at the station and reopen the former ticket hall.
Transport for All said: "The support we had from passengers was enormous and all expressed their anger and frustration about the 119 steps from the platform to the street."
Local resident Valerie Weston uses the London Overground Line to travel to museums and galleries in London. However, she’s forced to avoid Crystal Palace station and do a much longer journey by bus, rather than face all the steps. “We would use it much more if we didn’t have to climb all the steps to get out!” she said. “At 80 and 73 we both find it is getting much more difficult!”

Transport minister Norman Baker said: “Rail journeys don’t start and end at the carriage door. For many people – whether they are elderly, disabled or parents with prams – getting from the station entrance and on to the train can be the hardest part of their trip.
“Despite the need to reduce the deficit, we are committed to improving access to stations across the country as this can make a huge difference to people’s lives. In recognition of this, and of the large number of high quality bids we received for this funding, we are today announcing projects worth more than double the £17m budget we originally allocated to this programme.

“We are also adding £2m a year to the current £5m allocated each year to train operating companies which will be used to fund more minor works and releasing £57m of funding earlier than planned to Network Rail so that they can accelerate the delivery of the main Access for All programme.”

The improvements will be transformative for disabled and older people living around the area; and their ability to get to work, to see friends and family, and to enjoy the freedom and independence to travel. 50 per cent of disabled people do not see their friends and family as often as they would like because of inaccessible transport and 48 per cent said inaccessible transport had restricted their choice of job, rising to 62 per cent of wheelchair users and 86 per cent of people with a visual impairment (“Mind the Gap, Leonard Cheshire Disability, 2003).

The full list of stations allocated funding and planned improvements are:
Acocks Green, Aldershot, Alton, Barry Island, Bearsted, Bexleyheath, Birchwood, Blackhorse Road, Chirk, Crayford, Crystal Palace, Edmonton Green, Ewell East, Hackbridge, Hampstead Heath, Kensal Rise, Keynsham, Llandaf, London Paddington, Machynlleth, Nailsea and Blackwell, Paddock Wood, Queen’s Road Peckham, Radyr, Redhill, Richmond, St. Austell, St. Neots, South Tottenham, Stratford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Stevenage, Swindon, Theale, Wakefield Westgate, Wendover, West Hampstead, Wokingham and Ystrad Mynach stations.