Hello

I bring you excellent news about the next stage of safety measures at the Battersea Bridge/Cheyne Walk crossroads.

Earlier today, I had a briefing meeting via Teams with the three key TFL officers in charge of the Phase 2 scheme.

There was an undertaking by TFL last year to bring in added changes once the new crossing over the bridge was finalised following our campaign. They have certainly been true to their word. Applause.

You can read about the changes on the TFL website page here. And you can see the graphic here.

I have been surprised by the scale of the new changes that are now on the table. These are up for wider discussion in what is called the 'Engagement' phase. This remains open until 23rd August. Everyone has a chance to offer their views. I urge you all to do so. 

You can do this by emailing - haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk

You can also fill out a survey here. Although some of the questions may appear skewed towards answers that satisfy the proposal in play!

The key developments are:

- new Green Man 'straight across' crossings over ALL remaining three arms of the junction (each side of Cheyne Walk and one across Beaufort Street) 

- new cycle lanes in both directions

- a bus lane running East-West on Cheyne Walk

- a No Left Turn banning all traffic from turning into Beaufort Street from Cheyne Walk

- a crossing and a 'bus gate' to the south of Battersea Bridge (this will be under another scheme at a later date)

I am delighted to see the scope of the proposed new works, but I am equally amazed that so much has been included without even a quiet 'heads up' to stakeholders in advance. Adding cycle lanes and a bus lane is certainly eye-catching - and, quite possibly, controversial. It is as if TFL had been asked to bake a Victoria sponge and came back with a three tier wedding cake.

I understand that there have already been questions raised about certain aspects. Key areas of concern are the No Left Turn and its impact on local residents, regarding access to homes and to the Kings Road, and how such large scale changes for pedestrians will impact traffic. TFL says that it is awaiting full results of its modelling to estimate the congestion issue. They say that the scheme is up for discussion and that this is "not a done deal".

The basic timescale looks like this: Engagement until 23rd August; revisions (if any); full consultation from October; detailed drawings and further planning early 2023; build late spring/early summer 2023. 

The current cost of the scheme is estimated to be £1.2m. Allocation of these funds naturally depends on government funding, but TFL says that this junction is in the "Top 3" of priorities to fix in London, so they want it to go ahead. TFL believes that this is the "strongest and most defendable scheme" that will bring a "transformational improvement" to the safety of the junction. It is certainly hard to disagree with that.

I am delighted to see this scheme come to fruition in such a short space of time. My thanks goes to everyone who has worked so hard on this at TFL. I hope that the engagement process will convince them to amend certain elements - if indeed possible - so that it can be welcomed by everyone in the wider community. I am sure a way can be found that keeps everyone happy. (RM: 27/7/22)