Access to South Circular from Wellesley Road and Stile Hall Gardens may be stopped

Congestion on the road is particularly bad at rush hour

Plans have been drawn up to block off a short cut through residential streets to commuter traffic avoiding using the Chiswick Roundabout to access the South Circular Road towards Kew Bridge.

Under new proposals (shortly up for consultation) traffic could be blocked at the western end of Wellesley Road and Stile Hall Gardens.

This would then stop the commuter 'rat run' often directed by satellite navigation devices, though this could potentially lead to congestion in other roads such as Sutton Court Road.

Locals in Stile Hall Gardens and Wellesley Road are fed up of rush-hour queues and speeding on their streets and they recently demanded action from Hounslow Council.

They have now received a letter from the Council to say that a consultation on traffic issues on Wellesley Road / Stile Hall Gardens is planned from 7 November and full documentation will be made available from this date.

Some locals suggested a no entry for westbound traffic at the western end of Stile Hall Gardens and Wellesley Road would be preferred. However there are other options, including making Wellesley Road and Stile Hall gardens a cul-de-sac at their current junctions with the south Circular (Stile Hall Gardens may keep its east bound access from the South Circular).

All of the options up for consideration will mean car drivers won't be able to leave Wellesley Road onto the South Circular Road.

During peak times it can take more than 20 minutes to get from one end of the street to the other according to residents. At present Stile Hall Gardens has a 20 mph speed limit but locals say this is ignored and they claim 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. They are also concerned about pollution.

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-local 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.

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.

October 22, 2016