Hounslow Councillors Give 'Cautious Welcome' to H&F's Plans for A4 Cycle Highway
Say councils must work together to create 'seamless boundary' between boroughs
Artist's impression of superhighway looking west from Olympia
Nine Conservative councillors in the neighbouring borough of Hounslow have given what they describe as a cautious welcome to H&F Council's 'redesign' of TfL's plans for Cycleway 9 - previously named Cycle Superhighway 9, or CS9 for short - running through Hammersmith.
While Cycleway 9's original route ran from Olympia along Hammersmith Road and King Street, the council is instead proposing this route should be a Safer Cycle Pathway that will 'complement the streetscape'.
The council is also proposing a second route for faster cyclists along the A4, which it is dubbing a Cycle Highway.
"LBH&F’s new proposal is potentially remarkably similar to our long-called for recommendation for Chiswick," said Cllr Joanna Biddolph, leader of the Conservative Group on Hounslow Council, pictured above.
" We have said, from the start, that CS9 should be re-routed on the A4. We welcome the recognition that it is a viable route for faster cycling. Chronic underinvestment means it is currently under-used. Repairs and innovative updating, such as raised crossings, would change that.
"Our proposal was dismissed out-of-hand by TfL, the pro-CS9 lobby and Hounslow council. We ask them to engage more onstructively with us on this option. If it is workable in LBH&F, it is workable in Hounslow.
"If LBH&F's cycling scheme for more confident cycling, along the A4 from Hammersmith Gyratory to Chiswick, were to continue through Chiswick to Brentford, that could be a remarkable win for LBH&F and Hounslow residents."
Cllr Biddolph has written to Cllr Steve Cowan, leader of LBH&F, calling for collaboration between LBH&F and Chiswick’s councillors and adds: "Clearly, whatever happens in LBH&F will impact on what happens in Chiswick. It is essential that both councils work together on this and, in particular, that councillors who represent Chiswick should be involved in discussions about, for example, how the Safer Cycle Pathway joins Chiswick High Road and how the Cycle Highway will work along the A4 in Chiswick. Chiswick needs a scheme that works seamlessly over boundaries."
Chiswick’s councillors admit however that they are concerned about the lack of clarity and detail on the Safer Cycle Pathway and Cycle Highway. They have sought clarification on several issues stressing that retailers be consulted and asking whether consultation might result in no changes or if the changes might only be about aesthetics (improving the streetscape) while retaining CS9 as proposed.
They have also written to Cllr Steve Curran, Labour leader of Hounslow Council, calling on him and his fellow Labour councillors to reflect hard on the reasons for Labour-controlled LBH&F’s decision, and to recognise the significant and broad-ranging local sentiment against such an expensive infrastructure project along Chiswick High Road.
"We welcome the recognition that King Street is not a suitable location for a 2.5m-3m wide, hard-kerbed, segregated cycle lane," said Cllr Patrick Barr, deputy leader of the Conservative Group.
“By clear inference, the same is true about Chiswick High Road where there will be a significant impact on pedestrians (pavements expropriated), retailers (loading bays moved, premises severely blighted), public transport (a bus lane lost, road blocks gained) and on residents and visitors (parking spaces removed, junctions made complicated). In contrast, the beneficiaries – commuters passing through – would be few.
"The pro-CS9 lobby repeatedly portrays us as anti-cycling NIMBYs. We are not. Indeed, many of us are regular cyclists. To suggest that we are also callous, and uncaring about cycle-safety, is equally preposterous. Our position has always been about the detail of the design of the CS9 scheme. Segregation has its place but this would be the first time such a scheme has been built along a high street such as Chiswick High Road."
Chiswick’s Hounslow councillors are collecting local signatures for a petition to Hounslow’s cabinet asking them not to approve TfL’s current CS9/CW9 proposal, ahead of a Hounslow cabinet meets on 3 September when it will decide whether to approve or reject Cycleway 9.
Meanwhile H&F Council is planning a series of workshops with residents’ groups, Disability groups and schools to flesh out detailed designs for its plans.
Hounslow councillors and residents campaigning against Cycleway 9 on Chiswick High Road
August 29, 2019