Measure proposed s to stop congestion in Wellesley Road and Stile Hall Gardens

Congestion on the road is particularly bad at rush hour

Hounslow Council have agreed to start consulting with local residents on ways to stop traffic congestion in two local streets being used as a 'rat run' for drivers heading towards the South Circular Road.

Residents from Stile Hall Gardens and Wellesley Road attended a meeting of the Chiswick Area Forum last night to tell Council officials how the use of satellite apps had contributed to extra traffic driving through their normally quiet residential streets.

During peak times it can take more than 20 minutes to get from one end of the street to the other.

At present Stile Hall Gardens has a 20 mph speed limit but locals say this is ignored and their research has shown the average speed is above 35 mph.

Congestion has become so bad that at one stage a local resident had to go out and help to direct traffic, the meeting was told. They are also concerned about pollution from extra traffic.

Wellesley Road forms part of the proposed Cycle Superhighway route in the Borough. The problem was identified last year when a Council survey started with local residents to identify existing transport issues ahead of consultation on the cycle highway. Locals told them that there were high levels of concern about non-residential traffic in the area and this would cause difficulties for cycling.

A petition was lodged calling for action on the problems, signed by 102 residents, representing 75 of the 104 households on Stile Hall Gardens.

Residents say; "Over 80 per cent of locals want something done as they are quite upset. With traffic backing up at rush-hour we cannot get our cars out at all. And there have been incidents of road rage and arguments as people try to circumvent the long queues by speeding around to Regent Street and trying to jump the queue at the junction with Stile Hall Gardens."

The road has been used as a shortcut by local drivers for years, avoiding the Chiswick roundabout to gain access to the Chiswick High Road and get closer to Kew Bridge.

Locals are also worried about the problem worsening with plans for the Lionel Road stadium and other developments in the area.

The street is two-way and vehicles coming eastbound find themselves trapped by the long line of traffic heading towards the Chiswick High Road. Frustration often boils over into rows between drivers.

The options could include: Closure of Wellesley Road at its eastern end, together with no entries on all side roads linking Wellesley Road with Chiswick High Road. This would prevent all westbound through journeys using Wellesley Road, but would require that all access into the area be via the South Circular.

The Council recommends consulting on two further options:

A “No entry except buses and cycles” for westbound traffic on Wellesley Road east of its junction with Oxford Road north. This could be complimented by a no entry for southbound traffic on Oxford Road North (except buses and cycles) after a period of monitoring, if using Oxford Road North to access the western end of the route proved popular. This second no entry would not be introduced before a period of monitoring because it would have high an impact on the vast majority of residents, who would need to access any address west of this point via the South Circular.

A “No entry except buses and cycles” for westbound traffic on Wellesley Road west of its junction with Oxford Road north. This could be complimented by a no entry for northbound traffic on Oxford Road North (except buses and cycles) after a period of monitoring, if using Oxford Road North to access the western end of Chiswick High Road as a “partial rat run” proved popular.

Local groups will now follow up to collect more views and feed back to councillors for input into the consultation document

September 21, 2016