'Difficult To Over-estimate' Impact of Newly Released Cycleway Plans
Scheme set to fundamentally transform Chiswick High Road
New bus gate to be placed near junction with Acton Lane
Details of plans to radically reshape Chiswick High Road have been released by Hounslow Council.
The temporary version of Cycleway 9 will transform the way traffic is handled between the junctions with Heathfield Terrace and Goldhawk Road.
Unlike the original plans for the segregated cycleway there will be no use of pavement space or loss of trees but the designs are likely to be controversial with a bi-directional cycle lane taking over existing bus lanes and confining motor traffic to a single lane each way for much of the length of the High Road.
Transport for London have confirmed they will cover the full cost of the scheme and will undertake implementation, with construction due to commence later in the summer/early Autumn.
One local councillor that he didn’t wish to formally comment at this stage but said, “I don’t want to rush to judgment because I have only just had sight of the drawings but a quick peruse tells me that it will be difficult to over-estimate the impact that this scheme will have. I believe the proposals will provoke a level of outrage way beyond that we have seen for the measures on Turnham Green Terrace, Fisher’s Lane and Devonshire Road and that may well be my ultimate reaction too but I would like to hear from officers exactly how the new layout will work before getting my blood pressure raised.”
Key differences between the temporary scheme and the permanent Cycleway 9 proposed earlier are that, other than at the Goldhawk Road junction, it will no longer be attempted to have two lane approaches to signalised junction, zebra crossings will be retained rather than signalised but in most cases refuge islands for pedestrians will be removed.
In addition there will be a new bus gate to the west of the junction with Acton Lane for eastbound traffic. Traffic will be held at a set of lights close to The Italians with buses given priority. This aims to mitigate the negative effects of the loss of bus lanes for local services.
It is also hoped that the access restrictions on Turnham Green will reduce the impact on buses. The report to councillors on the plan states, “It is also anticipated that the effective closure of Turnham Green Terrace through the borough’s wider streetspace programme will also improve the operation of the Chiswick High Road – Turnham Green Terrace junction and therefore also help reduce delay to buses.”
However, with no enforcement currently of the access restrictions on Turnham Green Terrace use of the right turn on Chiswick High Road remains close to previous levels leading to potential delays at this point for all traffic including buses.
Bus users travelling westbound will now need to cross the cycle lane and wait on island refuges for some stops.
The designs issued for the scheme also reveal that banning all traffic except buses from exiting Fisher’s Lane is being considered by Hounslow Council.
Concerns have been raised about the safety of cyclists on a bi-directional pathway from traffic emerging from side roads such as Netheravon Road and Airedale Avenue. Motorists will be given an indication of the possibility of cyclists travelling in both directions by a blue road surface.
There will also be a loss of some loading bays and parking spaces on the High Road and the access to the car park opposite Windmill Road will be closed.
Eastbound cyclists on Chiswick High Road will join the cycle track via Advanced Stop Line near the entrance to Waitrose. This will enable them to get ahead of traffic and join the bi-directional lane on the south side of the High Road. The right turn into Heathfield Terrace at this point will be banned.
The bi-directional cycle lane will begin at the junction with Heathfield Terrace requiring the removal of the pedestrian refuge at the crossing opposite the former Carluccio’s restaurant.
Progressing east bound the pedestrian refugees at the two crossings near the junction with Dukes Avenue will also be removed.
The bus stop currently outside Byron Burgers will be moved across into the general traffic flow. Bus users will access it by crossing the cycle lane to an island refuge delineated using temporary kerbs.
The pedestrian crossing opposite Pizza Express will remain a zebra crossing but the central refuge will be removed.
The central access to the High Road car park near the George IV pub will be closed off with the bus lane along this section of the road converted to a cycle lane. The zebra crossing opposite The Crown will be retained but the central refuge will be removed.
Despite the removal of the central refuge and traffic lights at the crossings by Snappy Snaps and Joe and the Juice, eastbound traffic near the junction with Turnham Green Terrace will be single file.
Vehicle access to the area in front of the Packhorse and Talbot will be closed off to create more space exclusive to pedestrians.
The bus stop that was previously on the other side of Mayfield Avenue is to be relocated to outside the Old Cinema and Hare and Tortoise restaurant. As with other crossings the zebra near Mayfield Avenue will lose its central refuge.
The westbound bus stop outside Smilecare Dental Clinic will now be accessed by an island refuge.
At the Chiswick Lane junction, the pedestrian refuges will be removed and the westbound left turn on Chiswick High Road becomes a cycle lane. After Chiswick Lane, most pedestrian refuges appear to be retained as the cycle lane takes over the westbound bus lane.
The westbound bus stop opposite the Power House is being moved further east to near the junction with Ravensmede Way. This will have an island refuge formation to allow passenger to wait on the other side of the cycle lane.
Access to the uncontrolled crossing point opposite Chiswick Club Society will be closed off by a temporary barrier and the central refuge will be removed.
The westbound bus stop near the junction with Goldhawk Road is being moved further west.
The scheme will be implemented through an Experimental Traffic Order which means that a full consultation is not necessary, Work will be able to commence a week after the traffic order is issued and the scheme will be subject to a review partly based on feedback from the public six months after implementation.
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August 30, 2020
