Motor vehicles will no longer to use them to reach the South Circular

Wellesley Road at the junction with the A206. Picture: Google Streetview

The long delayed closure of two Chiswick roads to through traffic finally looks set to proceed.

Wellesley Road and Stile Hall Gardens are will no longer provide access to the South Circular Road (A205) for motor vehicles, Hounslow Council have announced. Only pedal bikes will be allowed through. Vehicles will still be able to enter Stile Hall Gardens from the A 205.

The move is being implemented on TfL’s behalf by the council. A consultation was held on closure back in 2016 after a petition was presented to the council by Stile Hall Gardens residents and the responses were broadly in favour of closure.

However, some residents who were against the closure claimed the consultation was defective because originally the option to retain access on the roads was not in the consultation documentation. The Council made the decision to proceed but implementation was held back pending a traffic survey by TfL. The closure was incorporated into the design of Cycleway 9 which was granted approval last year.

Traffic on these two roads had been getting progressively worse and it is believed satellite navigation devices were partly responsible by encouraging motorists to use them as a cut through to avoid Chiswick Roundabout.

No indication has been given as yet as to when the closures will be implemented.

The move is part of a range of measures by Hounslow Council which aim to improve the local transport network and make the area safer for pedestrians and cyclists. They are planning to amend bus lane hours across the borough to extend to 24/7 where possible, and at a minimum to cover the busiest times Monday-Sunday, on a trial basis. They say provision for loading to local premises will be retained

Hounslow are also planning to close the road passing through Dukes Meadows Park in Chiswick at the tunnel under the rail line and they are to progress the permanent closure of Lionel Road South to through traffic once the stadium works are completed.

They say they will be 'continuing the conversation' with residents in Strand on the Green and Grove Park about options to reduce traffic in these areas as part of the South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhood, with a view to implementing some trial schemes later in the year.

A public consultation is being held on the issue of Hounslow Street space. It will be open until the end June 2020.

Congestion on Stile Hall Gardens is particularly bad at rush hour

Cllr Hanif Khan, Cabinet Member for Transport and Corporate Property, said, “Temporarily suspending parking to provide more space for pedestrians at town centre sites, bringing forward sustainable transport schemes we have already approved, trialling projects at other areas where concerns about safety and through traffic have been raised previously, are all necessary to help keep people healthy and safe. There could well be varying forms of social distancing for many months to come, so it’s important we take action to best manage it. In some cases these trial changes may also bring wider benefits, such as improved air quality, and some we may want to keep in place for the longer term.

“Many of these projects were already in train, but we know there will be lots of creative ideas out there on other things we could do. We’re really excited to start a borough-wide consultation with our diverse communities to encourage those ideas and we look forward to hearing from as many people as possible.”

May 9, 2020