The Putney Puddle is gone.
Works completed this week have repositioned the drain at the junction that has flooded in wet weather for years, making life miserable for pedestrians heading to Sainsbury’s or the High Street. A second drain has been added. Rain fell this week. The pavement was dry.
The works are freshly done. Green construction barriers remain in place, and the new tarmac is visible around both drain grates. Whoever ordered the fix, the result is the same: a junction that has sent thousands of people sidestepping through puddles for nearly 20 years has been sorted.
Putney.news asked in December whether the puddle would ever be tackled. The answer, it turns out, was yes. The works have been carried out, the rain has fallen, and the junction held dry. Anyone who has navigated that corner on a wet morning will know how long this has been coming.
The barriers will come down. The tarmac will settle. The puddle, by all the evidence of this week, is no more.
Very good. Now for the other puddles! The URR pavement outside what is currently the Putney Hotel sees giant puddles form whenever it rains. TfL problem of course. The one on the east side of PHS by the lights at Putney Cross was a problem for years. The drain was fixed, but only partly.
I recommend a walk around our busier streets when it next rains!