Call for Wandsworth Bridge Road Parklets to Be Scrapped
Council says they help make it a high street not a highway
A parklet on Wandsworth Bridge Road
January 30, 2025
A Hammersmith and Fulham Conservative councillor has called on the Labour-run local authority to remove parklets installed along Wandsworth Bridge Road.
Cllr Jose Afonso, in a letter to Cllr Sharon Holder, Cabinet Member for Public Realm, wrote he was raising ‘serious concerns’ regarding the introduction of the parklets.
“The safety of cyclists, the needs of local businesses, and the voices of the community must be taken into account,” he wrote.
A spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham said the parklets are part of a wider series of works at Wandsworth Bridge Road which will improve safety, reduce congestion and turn it back into a high street ‘at the centre of the community’.
The council began installing a series of seating and planters, known as parklets, along the South Fulham thoroughfare last September.
A webpage details how the local authority is wanting to turn the road into a ‘destination high street’, with benefits for residents, local businesses and visitors.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) visited Wandsworth Bridge Road in October and spoke to several people in the area.
Their responses were varied, with some praising the additional seating and the impact on vehicle speeds, while others claimed they were dangerous.
One woman, Irene West, claimed the combination of the parklets and the South Fulham Clean Air Neighbourhoods (CANs) had worsened traffic on Wandsworth Bridge Road.
The council has previously disputed this, and said data indicates the CANs have led to fewer vehicles locally.
In his letter, Cllr Afonso, who is also the Tory opposition group’s Deputy Whip and a member of the Climate Change and Ecology Policy and Accountability Committee, wrote while the intention behind the parklets may have been to provide green spaces and improve the urban environment, ‘the reality has proven to be quite the opposite’.
He wrote that the parklets have forced cyclists to move closer to moving traffic, and that local businesses and the wider community have expressed their disapproval.
“Over 1,000 residents have signed a petition calling for the removal of these structures,” Cllr Afonso wrote.
“This substantial number clearly indicates the level of opposition and the depth of feeling within the community regarding this issue.”
A spokesperson for Hammersmith and Fulham said: “Residents and businesses told us they want a high street not a highway. These works are designed to start that journey towards returning Wandsworth Bridge Road to its former self, as a high street at the centre of the community.
“The interim scheme, which is currently being installed, will feature not just parklets – but also improvements to side street junctions, improved pedestrian crossings, new benches and de-cluttering of the pavements.
“These measures have safety at their heart. They will reduce congestion on the road, manage vehicle speeds more effectively and create a safer, cleaner and greener environment while increasing opportunities for businesses.”
Hammersmith and Fulham Cycling has previously praised the council’s work on Wandsworth Bridge Road.
The group told the LDRS in October: “The redesign and signing, along with the improved aspect of the traffic reductions to the neighbouring side streets are turning it into a place where people want to come and spend time, use the local facilities, and patronise the local artisan businesses.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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