Council Emergency Plan for Flyover Chaos Mayor being urged to stop Piccadilly line at Turnham Green. New parking and bus lane restrictions to be put in place With total gridlock widely predicted when Hammersmith Flyover closes, Hounslow Council is seeking to introduce a range of emergency measures to mitigate the chaos. Hounslow Transport experts believe that traffic congestion throughout West London will be especially severe in the Chiswick area. They predict that A4 and A316 and major local routes including Chiswick High Road (A315), Chiswick Lane, Turnham Green Terrace and Sutton Court Road are likely to be gridlocked or at best very slow moving for up to 15 hours every day. A plea has been sent to Mayor Ken Livingstone to increase accessibility to public transport by allowing Piccadilly line trains to stop at Turnham Green tube station. The Mayor formally took over the tube network today and it is hoped that he may be more flexible on this issue than the former management. Cllr Ruth Cadbury,
Hounslow’s Executive Member for Enhancing Our Environment, wrote in a
letter to him “You will be aware that a long-held bone of contention for
the London Borough of Hounslow is the fact that Piccadilly Line services
do not stop at Turnham Green station (except in the very early morning
and late evening), despite quite considerable potential demand at this
location." Cllr Cadbury suggests to the Mayor that this would provide an opportunity to trial the operation of a full Piccadilly service at Turnham Green. Hounslow Council received approval from the Chiswick Area Committee this Wednesday for permission to introduce a range of emergency measures. These include an extension of traffic restrictions around the High Road to 24 hours, 7 days a week, round the clock operation of bus lane restrictions. The parking restrictions will allow two lanes of traffic on most of the High Road whereas the constant bus lane operation is designed to encourage people to switch to buses or cycles during the disruption and give better access to the emergency services. Loading restrictions will be actively enforced in order to minimise disruption to through traffic. The Committee also requested that a free breakdown service be implemented,additional parking enforcement resources be contracted (with a brief to focus on keeping traffic moving rather than issuing penalty notice) and that the arrangements be well publicised, including a request to pedestrians to take special care as bus lanes will be in operation 24hrs 7 days. These requests are being investigated into by LBH as a matter of urgency.... One bright spot is that Chiswick's roads will receive an emergency upgrade with all potholes on key routes to be repaired as soon as possible and any that appear during August to be fixed as a first priority. An early informal agreement has been secured with TfL in respect of the costs of the proposals, and an urgent request has been made for formal confirmation that TfL will meet the full costs. At this stage, it would appear that costs are likely to be approximately £20,000 - £30,000. Transport for London (TfL) is to close the Hammersmith Flyover on the A4 arterial route for up to three weeks in August for resurfacing and the installation of a new drainage system. The advertised dates are 1 August 2003 to 22 August 2003 inclusive. The flyover will be completely closed for the duration of the works and TfL's contract allows for 24 hour 7 days per week working with the aim of reopening the A4 as quickly as possible. TfL believes the work could be completed in as little as 10-12 days but is advertising the full 22 day period as a contingency against wet weather and other delays. July 17, 2003 Sign
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