Proposed access improvements to Chiswick mainline station

Council consults residents on programme of enhancements to Burlington Lane area

Hounslow council is proposing a programme of enhancements to the area around the north side of Chiswick Overground Railway Station.

The improvements are primarily to develop pedestrian access to the station from the surrounding streets but also look to address the ongoing issues of commuter parking in the area and improve access to the E3 bus service thus reducing delays on Sutton Court Road.

Initially funded by Transport for London proposals include:

• A zebra crossing across Burlington Lane in the immediate vicinity of the station entrance;
• Raised entry treatments across Park Road and Russell Kerr Close at their junctions with Burlington Lane;
• Extended bus stops to permit the buses to pull in against the kerb to allow passengers to board and alight more easily;
• A new bus shelter outside 1 and 2 Station Parade and an enlarged and relocated shelter on Sutton Court Road northwest of the station entrance;
• New parking restrictions (double yellow lines) adjacent to and opposite Russell Kerr Close and at the Park Road junction;
• Five Pay & Display parking spaces on Park Road, for visitors to the local shops and services;
• Minor road-widening on Park Road to accommodate the above bays;
• Three or four Loading Only spaces on Burlington Lane;
• Widening of the Sutton Court Road carriageway between Park Road and 170 Sutton Court Road, to address issues of bus conflict and delays, while maintaining on-street car parking;
• New parking restrictions (double yellow lines) on the northeast side of Sutton Court Road between 164 and 170, at the sharp bend where the road turns away from the railway line.
• Extensive footway repairs and/or repaving.
• Mature trees would not be affected by the proposed road-widening, but some smaller specimens would be transplanted to, or replaced, nearby on the footway. There may also be an opportunity for further tree planting and environmental enhancement.

These proposals are shown on the plan enclosed with a letter that has been sent to all residents in the immediate vicinity of the station. Views have been sought from these residents and these will be incorporated into a presentation to the Chiswick Area Committee on 6th December 2006. If the Area Committee approves the scheme, implementation would commence soon afterwards and the whole scheme should be in place by the end of March 2007.

Not all residents are entirely happy with the proposals. One resident told ChiswickW4.com “No one is going to pay and display when they know that there is free parking elsewhere. The parking problems won’t be eradicated with double yellow lines and pay and display spaces, it will just move the issue to the doorsteps of residents in the surrounding streets.”

Another echoed the point about commuter parking issues and added "I believe that the double decker E3 buses are a significant part of the problems around Chiswick Station. For a start, the buses are simply too big for these small, suburban roads. The roads were never designed to carry these monsters.  The solution is not to widen the roads or paint double yellow lines, but to bring back the single decker E3's from Acton onwards, which is something Hounslow Council wanted from the start. The double-decker E3 buses are hideously big, under-used and inappropriate."

She continued "As for the commuter parking, this is only going to get worse when the Congestion Charge extends to K&C in Feb 2007. Then Grove Park is simply going to become a massive 'Park and Ride' facility with commuters driving as far as here, exploiting the free parking, and getting a train or bus into central London.  By painting double yellow lines (to accommodate the buses), the planners will simply succeed in pushing cars back into the Park Road, Lawford Road, Chesterfield Road etc streets behind."

October 20, 2006