Town Centre Survey Reveals Congestion Chiswick's Major Concern
'Vast majority' of responses negative about access restrictions and Cycleway 9
Report shows majority believe changes have caused congestion. Picture: OneChiswick
The results of a town centre survey held last autumn by Hounslow Council shows that Chiswick residents’ main concern is currently congestion and there has been a negative reaction to the changes recently introduced by the council.
A Commonplace map and survey was used to collect comments from 3 September to 8 November last year and the council have now published a report into the result. This document provides a summary of the comments and ideas collected.
There were four separate surveys for town centres in the borough with responses sought for Hounslow, Feltham and Brentford as well. In the event there were 1,435 comments about Chiswick more than three times the total for the other three areas.
The original aim of the survey was to ‘reimagine’ the future of the area and seek opportunities to increase domestic tourism, improve the variety of local offerings, support businesses and deliver more housing.
The overall conclusion of the survey was according to the authors of the report, “In Chiswick there is a strong sense of pride for local business. Residents feel the council need to understand the community better and do more to support these businesses.
“Residents of Chiswick are concerned about the congestion, fast cycle speeds and pollution caused as a result of the imposed traffic restrictions and cycle interventions.”
The overwhelming proportion (85%) of comments in Chiswick related to movement and connectivity and the access restrictions introduced by the council as well as temporary Cycleway 9.
The survey report states, “The overriding response was that the measures had made the local area worse, with a number of respondent comments concerned that the recent Cycleway 9 and LTN schemes had created a problem rather than fixed one. “
The report gives the following quote as an example, “I am a cyclist but even I am mystified/angry about the recent street closures and the cycle lane... Traffic congestion is worse resulting in more pollution not less.”
Comments relating to shopping focused on the value given to independent shops with some positive feedback about the Flower Market.
Although a number was not given, the report states that a ‘vast majority’ of the respondents were negative about the access restrictions on Fisher’s Lane and Turnham Green Terrace although there was a mixed response to the measure on Devonshire Road.
When asked ‘How do you feel about the town centre?’, the most popular response was ‘Congested’ at 35% followed by ‘Difficult to navigate’ at 28%
To the question ‘How could we make it better?’ 39% answered ‘less congestion’ with the next most popular answer’ better pavements/footpaths’. Less than 10% of respondents suggested more cycle routes.
In the ‘Other Comments’ section, once again most of them related to movement with the selected quotes in the report suggesting that many of them were negative about the recent changes introduced by the council.
The second most popular topic for comments was the need for better consultation with the theme of listening to residents recurring.
The OneChiswick group gave a cautious welcome to the report saying, “In our view it accurately reports the views of the vast majority of Chiswick residents and businesses who oppose the C9 cycle lane on Chiswick High Road, the closures of Turnham Green Terrace and Fisher’s Lane to vehicles other than buses, the closure of Devonshire Road and Thames Road other than for access and the introduction of ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhood’ schemes in South Chiswick/Grove Park and elsewhere in Chiswick. The report in many respects confirms the views of the OneChiswick group.”
Hounslow Council’s Interim Report on its Steetspace measures is due to be issued soon and OneChiswick is hopeful that it will announce the permanent reversal of many of the measures including the removal of Cycleway 9. A judicial review into the legality of the scheme is due to be heard on 16/17 June. OneChiswick are currently fundraising to help meet the costs of bringing the review.
Having assessed the results of the survey the council have published a new report with a series of ‘big ideas’ for Chiswick Town Centre but it contains few references to transport matters.
The council would now like your views on these ‘emerging visions’. A new survey has gone live and stays open until Monday 15 March. The revised Vision documents will be published later in the Spring after feedback has been analysed.
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February 19, 2021
