Summer Disruption Likely as Cycleway 9 Work Overruns
Council unable to say when project will be completed
Work continues near the junction with Chiswick Lane
Traffic congestion across the Chiswick area due to roadworks looks set to continue through the summer with the Cycleway 9 project overrunning and significant new schemes planned.
Work on the revisions to the segregated Cycleway in the Chiswick area was originally due to be completed on 15 April but work is continuing with temporary lights still operating at the junction of Chiswick Lane and Chiswick High Road.
We contacted Hounslow Council last week for an indication of when the work would be completed but it declined to answer claiming that 'purdah' restrictions during the council elections prevented it from doing so. A request to provide the information once the elections had been concluded went unanswered.
The information supplied by the council to the roadworks.org site now indicates that work will continue on Chiswick High Road until 30 June.
There has been some speculation locally that delays to the full implementation of the scheme are due to issues with the new traffic lights and a shortage of equipment.
Some local cyclists have expressed frustration with the delays pointing out that Cycleway 9 in Chiswick has more often than not been partially closed since it was first launched. Questions have been asked as to why Hammersmith & Fulham Council seemed to have delivered its section of the cycleway with fewer delays.
There are also concerns about how the delays will impact the consultation process. The temporary cycleway has been implemented through an Experimental Traffic Order which means that feedback is meant to be given and assessed during a period of trial operation. However, it is possible that any comments given so far are likely to be discounted on the basis that the scheme wasn't fully operational. It is thought likely that the trial operation period will need to be extended to allow the cycleway's impact to be judged during a sustained period when it is fully opened.
Cyclists frustrated at continued closures of Cycleway 9
Further substantial roadwork activity in the Chiswick area seems likely all through the summer with Hounslow Council having received provisional advance authorisation (PAA) for a number of projects in the town centre.
These include road and lane closures lane closures which are scheduled to last from 1 June to 31 August on Chiswick High Road, Dukes Avenue, Turnham Green Terrace, Annandale Road, Duke Road and Brackley Road. No indication has been given as to the reason for the works by the council.
The impact of roadworks during the summer is traditionally less as many people are away from Chiswick and traffic usually lessens. However travel industry associations are predicting that, despite a rebound from depressed levels during the pandemic, the number of people going on holiday abroad will below previous levels due to the rise in the cost of living, issues with passport renewal and additional complications due to Brexit. Also experts say it is hard to say how road usage will change this year with unseasonal increases possible as more people abandon working from home.
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May 8, 2022
