King Street Section of Cycleway 9 To Be Upgraded |
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Council says changes are 'springboard' to making scheme semi-permanent
Hammersmith & Fulham Council (HF) are set to proceed with further investment in cycling infrastructure in the borough including the upgrade of temporary Cycleway 9 from King Street to Lyric Square It is describing the proposals, which also include additional work on the northern side of the Hammersmith Gyratory as ‘semi-permanent’ and ‘a springboard for a permanent solution’. There is to be work done on the traffic signals at the junction of Goldhawk Road to facilitate traffic and bus flows where the cycleway meets with the section of the temporary Cycleway in Chiswick that is the responsibility of Hounslow Council. Some local cyclists have raised concerns about the safety of this junction as it requires them to cross the traffic lane. At this stage no plans have been released by HF Council but the indications are that the cycleway will not be bi-directional when it joins the segregated route in Chiswick. A report to the council is recommending approval of spending £3million on the two projects in partnership with Transport for London (TfL) along King Street. £1million is to be given to the upgrade of the existing temporary cycle way along King Street. This will now be designated as an interim Safer Cycle Pathway (SCP). Measures on this section will include upgraded barriers in the form of wands and rubber kerbs. There will also be a new pedestrian footpath along King Street and bus-bypasses.
The council says there ‘are possible compromises on some sections of the pavement’ to facilitate vehicle lanes at junctions while the interim scheme is in place. Plans for improving the cyclepath along the A4 are not being proceeded with at the present time. The council says it remains committed to the A4 cycle route but TfL were unwilling to fund it. £2million is to spent on a new layout for the northern section of the Hammersmith Gyratory which aims to make it safer for cyclists and which will be based on a permanent design scheme which was shelved due to lack of funding. The original scheme cost £20 million and the current proposal is semi-permanent with the council and TfL saying that this would be ‘a springboard for a permanent solution’ when more funding becomes available. This scheme will be administered by TfL.
The council says it will continue to engage with the Disabled Residents Team (DRT) on accessible design for the interim schemes and continue early design development for a permanent scheme. The intention is, once the recommendations are approved by the council, to commence the installation as soon as possible to ensure completion by late 2021. Funding for the King Street scheme will be coming from the Department for Transport/TfL Active Travel fund which lasts until 31 March 2022 and requires construction must start by September of this year. The gyratory funding is from the Department for Transport / TfL Healthy Streets financial settlement for Cycleway 9. This funding is allocated between May 2021 and December 2021 and additional approvals are being discussed within TfL to allow funding to be potentially carried over beyond December
July 23, 2021 |