Hammersmith & Fulham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hammersmith and Fulham Council will install raised zebra crossings, new cycle parking bays, and extend kerbs on Wandsworth Bridge Road to boost safety.
It is anticipated that the four-week project would start around August 18.
However, two opposition Conservative council members have demanded that the plan be put on hold, arguing that “proper consultation” is necessary.
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson previously said:
“We made a strong commitment to enhance and improve the Wandsworth Bridge Road during the consultations over the Clean Air Neighbourhood [CAN] camera schemes to the east and west.
Residents and businesses have told us they want a high street, not a highway. These works are designed to start that journey towards returning Wandsworth Bridge Road to its former self, as a high street at the centre of the community.”
The modifications mark the next phase of the council’s strategy to ease traffic and make Wandsworth Bridge Road better for both residents and businesses. A variety of traffic-calming features, including planters and seating decks, were put in place along the road by the local government last year.
In order to stop out-of-borough drivers from rat-running, cameras have also been installed on streets east and west of Wandsworth Bridge Road as part of the larger South Fulham CAN initiative.
Those who are caught face fines, and the council reports that the combined efforts have reduced the number of automobiles utilizing residential streets as cut-throughs by 15,000 per day, resulting in an estimated reduction of 1.9 tonnes of carbon emissions per day.
However, some locals have found the Wandsworth Bridge Road installations to be controversial. Silva Deakin, whose house has a broken planter from earlier this year, previously called the actions “idiotic” when speaking with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
“It’s just [a] nightmare,”
she said.
“And you know, where do they find funds to do ridiculous things like that?”
In a July 25 letter to businesses and residents that the LDRS was able to view, Cabinet Member for Public Realm Cllr Florian Chevoppe-Verdier stated that the next phase of the road’s redevelopment will begin the week of August 18.
Four new raised zebra crossings, bike rental parking spaces, an enlarged kerb with seats for everyone, vegetation and planters, and business-only loading bays will be installed in place of the parklet at the Ryecroft/Bovingdon junction.
“A series of permanent upgrades of existing crossings will put the safety of people first – making the neighbourhood an even more accessible and better place to live, work and socialise,”
Cllr Chevoppe-Verdier wrote.
“The full works are designed to boost the local economy by making the urban centre greener with more space for people, thus promoting the area’s burgeoning café and hospitality sector.
The changes will help reduce cycle accidents at side street junctions, tackle excessive speeding on the road, discourage large HGVs and make walking and cycling in the area safer and easier.”
He added future decisions about replacing seating structures outside Bon Bon and Joe’s Brasserie “will be taken in conjunction with local businesses”.
He said:
“We will be asking them to put forward their own proposals as part of the redesign of the town centre.”
They claimed the redesign is moving ahead “with no proper consultation”, with no detailed designs shared.
“Of particular concern is the proposed kerb extension and the narrowing of what is already a narrow and busy highway,”
they wrote.
“This risks creating even greater congestion and safety issues rather than solving them.
We must also question the logic behind installing seating directly on the highway. Wandsworth Bridge Road is a narrow, heavily used arterial route. If the council genuinely believes people will want to sit there it shows how out of touch these proposals are with the reality of local life.”
The two council members wrote that the designs for the current parklets and planters needed to be clarified and asked that the work be put on hold while a “proper consultation” was conducted.
The Market Research Society (MRS) discovered in March that a survey carried out by Opinium prior to the launch of the South Fulham CAN had violated four industry regulations. Among other things, it failed to take reasonable steps to guarantee that participants “were not led towards a particular point of view”?
Opinium “fully co-operated” with the investigation, according to the MRS, and no additional action was necessary.
James Endersby, Chief Executive of Opinium, said at the time:
“We support the Market Research Society’s review process. We were pleased to see its conclusion that no corrective steps were necessary, but we had already reviewed this study many months ago and put in place additional layers of quality checking in our ongoing commitment to high standards.”
A spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham Council said:
“The overwhelming majority of residents have made their position clear. They asked us to reduce congestion and pollution in their neighbourhood and we have delivered with cleaner, safer and quieter streets.”
How will the new cycle parking bays improve accessibility on Wandsworth Bridge Road?
Prevent clutter and obstruction on pavements, which is especially important for pedestrians, people with disabilities, and those using mobility aids, ensuring clear and safe walkways.
Encourage responsible parking of e-bikes and cycles in busy areas, reducing random bike pile-ups that can block pedestrian paths and cause hazards.
Support an increase in cycling by making parking more convenient and safer, which complements other active travel improvements and encourages more people to choose cycling.