Traffic lights will be scrapped and replaced with puffin crossing
Highway works intended to ease traffic congestion on one ofthe busiest roads in the Hammersmith and Fulham will begin on Monday, March 16.
Three sets of traffic lights on the junction of Avonmore Road and Hammersmith Road will be removed and replaced with a puffin crossing for pedestrians.
This is only the second time that traffic lights have been removed from a junction in London.
The roadworks will take place over the coming weeks.
The council claims that these changes to Hammersmith Road will speed up journey times by road, reducing clutter and making bus journeys quicker, while still maintaining a safe crossing for pedestrians across the busy highway.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council decided to carry out these works after an independent traffic study carried out by Kensington & Chelsea Council in June 2007 showed that these traffic lights were causing unnecessary delays to traffic in both directions on Hammersmith Road, particularly as Olympia Bridge is currently closed to vehicles weighing more than 18 tonnes.
However, three years after they first began, strengthening works on the bridge are expected to be completed later this month. This means that all restrictions on the bridge will be lifted, opening up two lanes to traffic in both directions.
A new bus lane is also going to be put in place on the westbound carriageway from Olympia Bridge to North End Road, and the existing bus lane in the opposite direction will be extended from Olympia Exhibition Centre to Olympia Way.
Councillor Nicholas Botterill, cabinet member for environment, said: “We have a serious problem with traffic congestion in Hammersmith & Fulham and we are working tirelessly to find a solution.
“These highway improvements will help traffic flow more smoothly and freely and, as a central route through the borough, we hope it will also go towards easing traffic elsewhere. We have made sure that pedestrians and cyclists are not sidelined in these plans and they will also benefit greatly.”
Over 1,000 cyclists use this section of Hammersmith Road between 7am and 10am, and 800 use it between 4pm and 7pm. The works are expected to be finished by the end of April.
15 March 2009