CS9 Consultation Response Deadline Approaching

Last chance to have your say on cycle superhighway plan revisions

CS9 Revised Route Between Duke Road and Dukes Avenue. Larger version

Transport for London’s (TfL) consultation on revised plans for Cycle Superhighway 9 is ending shortly.

If you want to have your say on the new designs for the sections of the segregated cycle pathway around the junction with Duke Road and Dukes Avenue and along the South Circular just north of Kew Bridge you need to submit your response by Tuesday (26 February).

TfL are not consulting on the scheme as a whole at this point just these two sections but the new plans have proved as controversial as the original proposals which attracted overall support but were opposed by most people living in the Chiswick area.

In an attempt to overcome these objections two significant alterations were made to the original design. Firstly there have been changes to the layout in the section between Duke Road and Dukes Avenue to prevent the cycle path obstructing the activities of Our Lady and St Edward Church on the High Road.

It is thought that a significant number of objections came from parishioners concerned about the plan but now the pavement area outside the Church will be maintained. However, the new proposal looks to be equally divisive with residents of the Glebe Estate concerned that it will lead to traffic log jam on the roads were they live.

The cycle track in this section is to be accommodated by removing the right turn lane from Chiswick High Road into Duke’s Avenue. The cycle path now goes outside the line of trees between Dukes Avenue and Heathfield Terrace with the number of lanes of general traffic being reduced to one westbound in this section. Double yellow lines will replace single yellows and a loading bay will be introduced near Gail's Bakery narrowing the pavement at this section. Dukes Avenue will be entry only at the junction with Chiswick High Road with the road at this point reduced to a single lane eastbound and no right turns allowed from this direction and right turns out of Duke Road will be forbidden except for cyclists.

Duke Road already struggles with existing volume of traffic. Picture: Google Streetview

This mean that any vehicle wishing to travel east on Chiswick High Road from this area would have to use Annandale Road to exit. TfL had previously proposed to reduce Annandale Road from two lanes to one at its junction with Chiswick High Road. They are now proposing to keep two lanes on exit at this junction to facilitate traffic that may be redirected from Duke Road.

The Glebe Estate Residents’ Association (GERA) has said it is deeply concerned about the revised plans. In a statement it comments, "The new proposals do nothing to address the restrictions on entering and leaving the Estate and its surrounding area that were inherent in the original design – in fact they make them worse."

Possible routes to be taken by traffic south of Chiswick High Road

The Hounslow Cycling Campaign points out that this area has has the worst record for casualties involving cyclists, pedestrians and motor vehicles on Chiswick High Road. The complexity of traffic entering or exiting side roads with traffic along Chiswick High Road produces a large number of conflicts and collisions.

Maps of collisions around Duke Road/Dukes Avenue. Source: Hounslow Cycling Campaign

A spokesperson for the campaign says, "The access restrictions at Dukes Avenue and Duke Road will simplify this and improve safety for all.

"We understand concerns from residents about increased traffic through the Glebe estate. TfL has estimated peak traffic turning right onto Chiswick High Road at 60 vehicles per hour however it is likely that a good proportion of these are rat-runners 'cutting the corner' between the A4 and Sutton Court Road to Chiswick High Road. The new arrangement should persuade many rat-runners to stay on main roads rather than take short cuts through residential streets however monitoring should be done in case additional filtering of through traffic is needed."

Apparently less contentious is the proposal to create a new two way segregated path on the stretch between Kew Bridge and Wellesley Road. At Kew Bridge and throughout Kew Bridge Road, the new designs would provide two-way segregated cycle lanes on the south side of Kew Bridge Road and South Circular Road, rather than the partially segregated cycle tracks on both sides of the road that were proposed in the earlier consultation designs. This change will ensure that people cycling are fully segregated from traffic throughout this section and it also removes the requirement for two bus stop bypasses. The change also addresses concerns raised about cycle safety at Kew Bridge junction, Green Dragon Lane and Lionel Road South. The new consultation will also propose a second southbound traffic lane on Kew Bridge to improve the efficiency of the Kew Bridge junction. In addition, the changes will make crossings wider, with cyclists signalled separately from conflicting traffic at the Kew Bridge junction.

New design for CS9 near Kew Bridge

Hounslow Cycling Campaign welcomes the new design in this area with some caveats. They welcome the fully-protected bike track on the South Circular and the better crossing for pedestrians. However, they believe the changes on Kew Bridge make some journeys worse for pedestrians and cyclists and say an attempt to improve journey times for motor traffic is being done at the expense of people walking and cycling.

Construction on the route is planned to start later this year subject to formal approvals by Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham councils, with the route expected to be complete in 2021.

Responses can be submitted online at tfl.gov.uk/kew-duke, by post to FREEPOST TFL CONSULTATIONS or by e-mail to consultations@tfl.gov.uk.

February 21, 2019