A 'Very Chiswick Mexican Stand-off' in Grove Park

Police presence doesn't deter protestors from stopping workmen again

Grove Park residents with police officers during protest

For the second time in just over a week, protestors in Grove Park have prevented Hounslow Council contractors removing a traffic island and installing a barrier.

A group of Park Road residents, concerned about the possible increase on traffic on their road should the barrier at the junction with Staveley Road be put in place, have been on the site on a daily basis since 14 September when a previous attempt was made to start the work.

This Tuesday (22 September) workmen returned and police officers were also on the scene. Despite the presence of the Met, the installation of the barrier was not completed.

The Park Road Neighbours group say the protest was entirely legal and they were complimented by the police for their The police complimented the Residents present on their peaceful and socially distanced behaviour. They say that the police observed that it was not illegal to stand or walk across a pedestrian refuge and there was no breach of the peace or obstruction. Nobody was either threatened with arrest or arrested.

The diagonal barrier is part of the council’s South Chiswick Liveable Neighbourhoods scheme to reduce the amount of through traffic in this area. Some residents of Staveley Road are concerned about the volume and speed of vehicles on their road and it is believed that a substantial proportion are using the road as a cut through rather than local people.

Many of the people protesting against the scheme live in Park Road. They claim there was a lack of consultation on the scheme and the new configuration will make the roads in the area more dangerous.

The Park Road Neighbours group describe the scheme as fatally flawed and say the design is illegal. They contend that the retention of tactile paving at the roadside where the traffic island currently is give an indication to those with visual impairment that this would be an appropriate place to cross and there would be an expectation of a pedestrian refuge at this point.

They claim a Road Safety Audit would have identified this as an issue. They also say that the design of the junction would mean there are sharp bends created by the intended diagonal crossing, from east to south and vice versa, with reduced sight-lines for drivers coming from the south and passing through a number of parked cars.

A spokesperson for the Park Road Neighbours group said, "it is apparent that the Council are deliberately putting lives at risk, it knew to undertake a Road Safety Audit, but it failed in its duty as directed by TfL guidance and advised by the lead design auditor to investigate the impact on vulnerable groups of removing the Pedestrian islands, that is completely non-sensical.”

The group also criticised the council for what they claim was a deliberate policy of setting one set of residents against another. Their spokesperson said, “It is a council that lacks competence and confidence and resorts to bullying that embarks on a win-lose strategy, which will end up being lose-lose. As residents in Grove Park we understand the concerns of all residents across the wider Grove Park area and are only interested in win-win solutions and we are putting our thoughts to these”.

Cllr Sam Hearn, who lives close to the spot where the barrier is to be installed, was at the protest on Tuesday morning and described it as a ‘very Chiswick Mexican stand-off’.

Protestors in Staveley Road by traffic island they want to save

Councillor Hanif Khan, Cabinet Member for Transport at Hounslow Council said, “It is not acceptable for a small number of people to prevent the Council from starting this trial simply because they don’t like the idea of it. This group does not represent the whole community. We know that many residents in the area are fully supportive of the trial taking place and want to experience it in situ so that they can feed back and be part of the decision-making process on whether or not it becomes permanent. In addition, their actions so far have wasted resource and public money by preventing our team from doing their job.

“The scheme has been brought forward as part of our Streetspace programme, in line with emergency statutory guidance issued to us by the Government in May, to reduce through traffic and create safer spaces for walking and cycling. We have successfully implemented a large number of projects across the borough in line with this guidance and it is only at this location that works to implement a trial arrangement are being interrupted by the actions of a minority of residents.

“We strongly encourage those engaged in these illegal activities to step back, follow the law, consider the views of the wider community and give their valued opinion through the consultation process that will run alongside the trial. It is only by trialling different approaches that we can understand what works and what doesn’t. We will not be deterred from implementing this experimental scheme as a means of finding the most appropriate way of dealing with the issue of excessive levels of traffic on Staveley Road.”

You can make comments either by participating in the Council’s online consultation or by emailing the transport team on traffic@hounslow.gov.uk.

September 23, 2020