Council to Proceed With New Cycle Route Along Thames Path

Signs would direct cyclists away from sections where restrictions apply

The council hopes the new route will reduce cycling on sections where it is banned

January 2, 2024

Hounslow Council is to proceed with the creation of a new cycle route along the Thames Path in Chiswick.

Priority Cycle Network Route 15 (PCN15) will link Richmond and Chiswick allowing cyclists to avoid areas of heavy traffic.

There will be no construction work involved in the scheme other than change to a traffic island on Chiswick Mall and the project cost is expected to be just £12,000 with most of the expenditure on new wayfinding signage.

PCN15 begins at the entrance to Dan Mason Drive by the A316 and continues around under the railway bridge by the Riverside Health Club and then back towards the river via The Promenade. When it reaches the Thames Crescent estate it diverts away from the river onto private roads at the back of the estate and along Pumping Station Road until it rejoins the Thames Path by Chiswick Mall. There will be an alternative route at this section to be used when Chiswick Mall is flooded.

It is hoped that installing signs providing route confirmation directing cyclist away from the No Cycling restrictions along the river frontage at Thames Crescent will reduce the number of cyclists using this section of the Thames Path.

The existing traffic island at the junction of Chiswick Mall and Chiswick Lane South will be reduced in size to provide sufficient space for a new cycle contraflow lane at the current “No Entry” westbound restriction. The current cycle track designed to by-pass the restriction at Chiswick Mall is overgrown and muddy due to frequent tidal flooding and it will be reconstructed further away from the river wall.

Alternative routes were considered including encouraging increased use of the pathway alongside the A316, but these were deemed not to fulfil the aim of allowing cyclists to avoid areas of high vehicular traffic.

The council forwarded the proposals to the Old Chiswick Protection Society (OCPS) last year and a number of objections were received form OCPS members.

Hounslow Cycling gave its support for the proposals and recommended further improvements, but officers concluded these were beyond the scope of the project.

The route

A council report into the plan says that comments received from the OCPS appeared to show a level of confusion over the scope of the proposals for PCN 15 which is not intended to be on the same scale as Cycleway 9. A meeting was held with the OCPS last September which the council says resulted in a consensus on the scheme.