On 2009-11-03, Offramp wrote:
On 3 Nov, 20:47, "Ian F." wrote:
As a Balham resident, I'm still reeling that allegedly £1m was spent on this
crossing when we have had one outside Balham station for over four years! It
is said to have cost £100k to create.

The media has totally ignored the fact, despite e-mails and calls, with the
exception of a tiny piece in Metro and a short letter in tonight's Standard.
Seems they are scared of upsetting the Mayor.

There is no need to have a cow. The Balham crossing is probably as
scary and useless as the Oxford Circus one. They are both just
cosmetic. The diagonal crossings are dangerous and totally unnecessary.

I can remember when I was about 12 and diagonal crossings were
introduced at a couple of city-centre intersections. They were called
"scramble" crossings, and I think they are still there - 48 years later!
There are actually quite a lot scattered around the world. The idea is
that they are good for places with high pedestrian traffic.

(The city in question was Brisbane, in Australia).

E.