But Sunday parking restrictions on Chiswick High Road to stay

Hounslow Council have today (2nd February) announced that with immediate effect all bus lanes except one on Chiswick High Road are reverting to 7am - 7pm operation.

The exception is the westbound bus lane that starts immediately west of the Goldhawk Road junction and runs through to Homefield Road. This bus lane remains in use at all times (i.e. 24 hours / 7 days). No waiting and no loading is permitted in this bus lane at any time.

The 24 hour operation of bus lanes was introduced as an emergency measure to combat increased traffic on Chiswick High Road caused by the closure of the Hammersmith Flyover on 23rd December last year. Critics of the move pointed out that there was minimal congestion at the times that bus lane operation was extended to and claimed that the primary purpose of the scheme was to raise revenue.

The restricted capacity of the Hammersmith Flyover continues to cause congestion in Chiswick, as drivers divert off the A4 in the mistaken belief that Chiswick High Road will provide faster travel times to central London.

As the flyover has now part-reopened (to light vehicles only), off-peak congestion on Chiswick High Road has eased, while peak-hour congestion remains a serious problem.

No waiting or loading is permitted in bus lanes during their revised hours of operation.

Sunday parking restrictions will stay but the hours of extra parking restrictions have been reduced. They now end at 7pm as opposed to 8pm before.

All the single lines restrictions along the Chiswick High Road, outside of the bus lanes, now operate between 7am and 7pm Monday to Sunday. No waiting is permitted on these lines between 7am and 7pm Monday to Sunday and no loading is permitted 7am-10am and 4pm-7pm.

January 27, 2012