Addressed to Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport , Andy Lord, Transport Commissioner, Transport for London, Stephen Cowan Leader London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham 

Stop Hammersmith & Fulham Council clogging up South West London with more congestion on Wandsworth Bridge Road

Hammersmith and Fulham Council are planning to narrow Wandsworth Bridge Road to encourage traffic to use other routes by worsening congestion on this road. They propose to create a “meandering” layout by widening pavements over existing cycle space, which will negatively affect residents, pedestrians and all road users including public transport, cyclists and emergency vehicles.  The changes will increase pollution and harm local businesses, on top of the damage already caused by the two LTNs on either side of the road which restricts alternative routes.  The Council lacks authority to make such major changes as the road is part of London’s Strategic Road Network, and they need approval from the Secretary of State who usually delegates that to Transport for London (TfL). Please sign this petition, raise concerns with TfL and your trade associations, and contact your MPs, Councillors and London Assembly Members.

PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION

The Issues in Detail

Hammersmith & Fulham Council are drawing up plans for Wandsworth Bridge Road which, in their own words, are a “meandering” design.  They plan to narrow the road by building out wider pavements over existing cycle space to create a chicane effect. This drastic design change to the A217, a main strategic road into and out of London, is intended to discourage traffic from using this route without offering alternative solutions. Narrowing it by building out pavements and removing cycle space will also endanger pedestrians and cyclists, as the road is so congested during the day that cyclists now use the pavements to go around the trial chicanes and queues.  All traffic in the area will be impacted including public transport. Locals think that these plans are fundamentally flawed as they will create more serious congestion and pollution.

If you live, work, drive, use public transport, taxis, cycle or walk through South West London you will suffer from these changes.  If you use other bridges across the Thames you will be impacted, because Hammersmith & Fulham Council want SatNavs to direct traffic to other bridges where possible.

This road is at the North end of Wandsworth Bridge and carries 37,000 vehicles per day including buses, emergency vehicles and HGVs supplying essential goods and services to London.  Industrial-sized Imperial Road and the wide Hurlingham Road, which could carry some of this traffic, are now part of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods preventing out of borough drivers from freely using these routes.  The delays to restoring Hammersmith Bridge to take traffic again, and changes to the Putney Road network has seriously impacted traffic flow. This means Wandsworth Bridge Road and roads in surrounding boroughs such as King’s Road and York Road already face greatly increased volumes of traffic.  

Every user of Wandsworth Bridge Road knows that congestion and journey time has increased substantially since Hammersmith & Fulham Council introduced the experimental parklets and planters in the road, supposed to emulate the “meandering” road design being proposed. In doing that, Council Officers overruled an independent Road Safety Assessment advising against parts of the design, leading to increased road traffic accidents along Wandsworth Bridge Road.  “Sacrificial” planters were installed before the parklets to take the collisions instead of injuring people brave enough to sit in the parklets.

Residents and travellers using Wandsworth Bridge Road already report that they miss appointments because buses and taxis cannot get through gridlock.  Bus users, especially young women and elderly people, feel unsafe, frustrated and sometimes helpless when services terminate early.  Special Needs pupils now spend more time in buses getting to and from school.  Many residents cannot book or persuade minicab drivers to travel to their streets due to the risk of fines, despite an apparent technological solution between Uber and Bolt. A survey showed that 84% of businesses along the road report losing customers because they are now too difficult to reach – a variety of local shops have closed, reopened by new owners as different businesses, then struggle or close again.

Pollution in the area is at an all-time high.  Air Quality Monitors installed by Imperial College and Hammersmith & Fulham Council as part of the Breathe London collaboration have shown a decline in air quality over the past 3 years in South Fulham.  This is despite the borough having the highest density of electric car charging points in the country.

We therefore do not believe that the proposed re-design meets TFL’s strategic network management duty, nor the objectives set by the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, the Streetspace for London Programme, Vision Zero, the Healthy Streets Approach and Active Travel England. It is astonishing that Hammersmith & Fulham Council even have a Clean Air Neighbourhoods programme when these plans will achieve exactly the opposite. 

We don’t have to put up with this. How we can stop it:

Wandsworth Bridge Road is defined under the Traffic Management Act 2004 as a London Strategic Road (non-red route) which means that Hammersmith & Fulham Council does not have the sole power to make these drastic changes.  They need approval from the Secretary of State before implementing major design changes, although in practice TFL acts as the coordinating agent for the Secretary of State. Please sign this petition to tell them Enough is Enough.

If you donate whilst signing, this goes to change.org. It is helpful to ensure your postcode is accurate to avoid the authorities claiming that signatories are not locals.  If you opt to receive updates on this petition’s progress, we will provide only occasional updates if they are significant. You can also follow us on X @cameratraffic

As well as signing this petition, please contact Transport for London as they need to approve these changes.  They are aware from their own monitoring just how congested Wandsworth Bridge Road has become.  If they approve this scheme and buses are adversely impacted they will need to modify the bus timetable or re-route buses.  If you are a driver or a cyclist please let them know how dangerous the road has become since the experimental parklets were introduced.  If you are a pedestrian let them know how dangerous the pavements have become from the chicane effect. Let them know how your journey is adversely impacted by emailing them at this address:  Haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk

If you do not receive a satisfactory response from TfL, London Travel Watch advocates for all people travelling in and around London on public transport and the road network.  You can find more information on their website: https://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/

If you are a bus, taxi or emergency service driver, please raise this issue with your trade association or union as some of these bodies are already aware of deep dissatisfaction from their members.

Please also complain to your local MP and London Assembly Member that you have simply had enough of the mis-management of this road and its impact on the wider area.  They cannot tell you that it is a matter for the local Council – it is a matter for Government and TfL as Wandsworth Bridge Road is part of the London Strategic Road Network.

ben.coleman.mp@parliament.uk Ben Coleman MP for Chelsea and Fulham

fleur.anderson.mp@parliament.uk Fleur Anderson MP for Putney

sarah.olney.mp@parliament.uk Sarah Olney MP for Richmond Park

bell.ribeiroaddy.mp@parliament.uk Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill

paul.kohler.mp@parliament.uk Paul Kohler MP for Wimbledon

marsha.decordova.mp@parliament.uk Marsha de Cordova MP for Battersea

slaughtera@parliament.uk Andy Slaughter MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick

The local London Assembly Members are:

james.small-edwards@london.gov.uk James Small-Edwards, AM for Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Westminster

leonie.cooper@london.gov.uk Leonie Cooper, AM for Merton and Wandsworth

Feel free to copy the Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance, on sebdance@london.gov.uk and the National Active Travel Commissioner at Active Travel England Chris Boardman CBE, on contact  activetravelengland.gov.uk

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