Hounslow Council have announced the details (via a letter to local residents) of their new traffic management arrangements in Chiswick. These are being implemented in response to central government guidance requiring local authorities to introduce changes “within weeks” to reallocate road space to pedestrians and cyclists, and to create more space for businesses to safely reopen. Work is already underway, with the changes due to be operational by the end of June or early July.
The changes include the trial road closures of Turnham Green Terrace, Devonshire Road and possibly Fishers Lane; restriction on motor vehicles entering Duke Road from the High Road and road closures at the junctions of Wellesley Road and Stile Hall Gardens with the South Circular (A205).
Comments and consultation
The Council say that a number of these changes are being introduced as Experimental Traffic Orders (therefore not requiring consultation) and that feedback will be reviewed over the next six months to determine whether they should be continued beyond that period. If the Council decides to take any of the schemes forward on a permanent basis, they will have to launch a formal consultation at that point and residents will have an opportunity to make their views known.
Hounslow have already invited residents to comment on the traffic arrangements but since the changes are imminent, you may (either as a Hounslow or Ealing resident) want to wait until the plans are working in practice, during the trial period.
We will be looking to ensure that an assessment of the benefits and any disadvantages of the schemes for both Bedford Park and the wider Chiswick area are considered by Hounslow. We will also take account of the experiences of pedestrians, cyclists and car users during the trial. We will keep our members posted and consider the most effective way for views to be communicated to the Council, once the trial is up and running.
Information on Hounslow’s Streetscape programme can be found on the Hounslow website. Any questions or comments you may have at this stage should be sent to: traffic@hounslow.gov.uk with the relevant road highlighted in the Subject of the email.