Council plans to cut congestion

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Journey times could improve with new slip road from Fulham Palace Road.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council wants to build a new slip road onto the gyratory from Fulham Palace Road in order to ease traffic jams caused by the Western extension of the congestion charging zone.

According to the council, congestion has increased in Hammersmith and Fulham as the Western Extension Zone falls along the borough boundary.

Traffic wishing to avoid the charge is now re-routing from Putney Bridge, the New Kings Road and the A3212 to Fulham Palace Road, which runs parallell to the charge boundary.

The new slip road will use the location of the current service road outside 24-36 Fulham Palace Road, avoiding the need for cars to slow to complete a 90 degree turn from Fulham Palace Road onto Talgarth Road, and also avoiding buses exiting the bus station.

Four new pedestrian surface crossings will also be introduced to the junction of Fulham Palace Road and Talgarth Road to make the journey easier for cyclists and those on foot. However, the subways will remain for those who wish to use them.

The council also claims that the 25 buses per hour running along Fulham Palace Road will benefit from faster journey times due to the slip road, as well as general traffic.

Traffic lights at the Castlenau junction will also be rephased in a bid to improve traffic queues along Hammersmith Bridge Road, which is also causing problems at the gyratory.

The bus gate and barrier on Hammersmith Bridge Road near the bridge will also be relocated futher north, adjacent to the Oxford and Cambridge roundabout.

The changes to the junctions have been drawn up to try to ease the flow of traffic from the north of the borough to the south, and will go before Hammersmith and Fulham Council's cabinet on June 15.

Improvements to Hammersmith Bridge Road should finish early next year, with the completion of the slip road from Fulham Palace Road following in December 2010.

The £2.5million scheme will be paid for by Transport for London.

 

June 10, 2009