Mixed Reaction to Staveley Road Barrier
Some residents welcome it but anger grows in Park Road
Traffic building up on Park Road
The first week of operation of the diagonal road barrier at the junction of Staveley Road has met with a predictably mixed reaction.
The new restriction has been welcomed by some residents on the road who are pleased with the reduction of through traffic.
However, many living on other roads are already calling the closure a disaster and say their previously quiet streets are now seeing a significant increase in the number of vehicles.
A spokesperson for the Park Road Residents Group said, “The design is clearly not fit for purpose. Residents have watched in horror as this poorly implemented scheme, ruining the streetscape and inappropriate for any residential road in a conservation area has led to substantive confusion, with vehicles driving on pavements to get round the obstruction. "
"Cllr Sam Hearn the Transport Spokesperson for the Conservative Cllrs Group who lives close to the new barriers says "no one disputes the fact that the volume of traffic on Staveley Road has increased particularly since the closure of Hammersmith Bridge. What residents object to is the crude method selected by Hounslow Council to address this problem. A fixed barrier not only affects rat-runners during the rush-hour but also disrupts the life of local people 24/7. !
On other roads in the ward the problem is being addressed through the use of a variety of ANPR cameras based solutions that are relatively unobtrusive and flexible. Implementing the fixed barrier has meant the ripping out of traffic islands that protected pedestrians, the partial closure of another street and the introduction of traffic lights and impediments to the free flow of cyclists. This is a Frankenstein's monster of a scheme that should never have been implemented even as a suck-it-and-see experimental measure."
A flatbed truck which was making a delivery in the area was forced to reverse down South Park Road and Lawford Road causing traffic jams in the area.
Some motorists are driving around the barriers damaging grass verges
A video has been taken of a lorry reversing along the roads after becoming stuck:
There has been further questioning of the methodology used to determine the design of access controls in the Grove Park area with opponents saying that with just 349 respondents the feedback exercise held on the Commonplace website cannot be said to be representative of residents’ views.
With regard to the diagonal barrier it has been pointed out that far more respondents recommended zebra crossings or pedestrian crossings on Staveley Road to calm traffic and that those commenting were only allowed to give a ‘thumbs up’ to proposals and not express disapproval of any idea.
It is also claimed that by dividing the South Chiswick into three distinct cells and classifying a car moving from one cell to the other, the true level of rat-running in the area has been inflated.
In a letter written to the council local resident Kelley M. Myers said, “Overall, the scheme for the intersection of Park Road and Staveley is based on information that is under-representative of the residents who pay council taxes and live in the area and has been parsed for manipulation.
The council says that over 5,000 vehicles a day were using Staveley Road a large proportion of which were exceeding the speed limit and the diagonal barrier is a trail measure the impact of which will be subject to assessment at a later date.
The new barrier at the junction of Staveley Road and Park Road
You can make comments on this schemes and other road measures in Chiswick either by participating in the Council’s online consultation or by emailing the transport team on traffic@hounslow.gov.uk.
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October 12, 2020
