Transport for London (TfL) have launched a public consultation on extensive changes to roads in the Shepherds Bush and Kensington areas – more specifically covering Wood Lane, Shepherds Bush Green, Holland Park Avenue and Notting Hill Gate neighbourhoods.
The proposals are part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy guided by the “Healthy Streets Approach” and aim to encourage more walking and cycling specifically. So one of the key changes is more segregated cycle lanes and reduction in road space for other traffic.
The previous mooted proposal to have a cycle lane on the elevated section of the A40 Westway has been abandoned even though that route has more potential road capacity to accommodate a cycle lane, so the latest proposals might be seen as a partial replacement.
Now it is undoubtedly the case that the roads concerned could be improved for pedestrians and cyclists but the traffic modelling undertaken by TfL demonstrates that the proposed changes will substantially increase journey times for vehicles on these roads. For example, on the route Lancaster Gate to Du Cane Road Westbound in the morning it might take an additional 10 minutes for general traffic (a 25% increase approximately) with buses also significantly delayed.
Traffic lanes would be removed – for example Holland Park Avenue would have a lane removed, and roads made one-way or with banned entry and exits onto Holland Park Avenue.
We have consistently opposed schemes that favour cyclists over other road users and result in the latter (even bus users) having increased journey times. We have already responded to the public consultation on this scheme but readers should please do the same which is very easy to do via an on-line consultation form available from here: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/wood-lane-notting-hill/ . You need to respond a.s.a.p. and before the 16th June at the latest.
Above is an artist’s impression of how Wood Lane might look in future – as usual a very optimistic view of how traffic on the road might look as we always see in these consultations.
Note that the consultation web site does not tell you how much the scheme will cost or provide any cost/benefit analysis, but I can tell you it is estimated to be £42.2 million. Is it any wonder Mayor Sadiq Khan is short of money when he spends that amount on relatively minor improvements to these roads that will benefit very few people.
Roger Lawson
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Drivers_London
You can “follow” this blog by clicking on the bottom right.
Another example of the Mayor’s determination to punish the motorist under the misguided ploy of improving air quality. This latest proposal will in fact worsen air quality by delaying traffic flow. When will this Mayor and his cronies on the London Assembly learn?
The car has been invented and cannot be uninvented, nor can workers or families who need to use modern methods of transport be legally attacked by any politician. And yet this mayor thinks he can use our taxes to massage his own reputation as a “modern” politician, disregarding the lack of logic in his road encumbering schemes which are dangerous, unhealthy and wasteful of public money. These plans referred to for Shephrd’s Bush and Holland Park are not needed.