Burtons Road area: proposed traffic-reducing measures

Overview

The Council has received a petition about the high number of vehicles using Burtons Road and adjoining roads, particularly during the peak periods. Traffic surveys show more than 500 vehicles during the morning peak period; this is significantly higher than we would expect for a road of this nature.

The wording for the petition was as follows and was supported online by 133 residents and by a further 45 residents via a paper petition.

“Our roads are used as a cut through by people trying to avoid traffic at the Hampton Hill junction and on Park Road, leading to a significantly higher volume of traffic on our roads than they were designed for. This leads to road rage, aggressive driving, damage to parked cars, and makes it unsafe for children, families and older adults trying to cross Burtons Road to get to school, the train station and around the community. We need a solution that reduces the number of vehicles, reduces aggressive driving behaviour and improves safety for people walking and cycling. With more and more accidents happening this needs to be prioritised.”

There have been a number of injury collisions at the junction of Burtons Road with Wellington Road in the latest three year period. This likely reflects the higher traffic movements at this junction.

Following receipt of the petition, Council officers met with a number of concerned residents and local ward councillors to assess conditions during the busiest time of the morning. During this time high traffic flow and resultant congestion was observed. In response, the Council propose the following measures (as detailed on the plan here) to be implemented for an experimental period of a minimum of six months and up to a maximum of 18 months. After this time a decision would be taken as to whether to make these measures permanent.

• A road closure at the Links View Road / Burtons Road junction. This will mean that vehicles travelling west along Burtons Road from Wellington Road can only turn right into Links View Road, and vehicles travelling east towards Wellington Road can only turn right into Albert Road.

• A no entry for eastbound vehicles outside numbers 81-83 Burtons Road. Traffic would only be able to travel in a westerly direction at this point (in the direction of Uxbridge Road).

• A road closure for all motorised traffic in both directions mid-way between Lindsay Road and Cranmer Road.

Pedestrian and cycle movements will remain unaffected.

These measures will remove the potential for any through traffic within this area. There will obviously be an impact caused by displaced traffic onto other parts of the road network and the Council would closely monitor traffic conditions both before and during the experiment. It is expected that there will be some inconvenience to residents living within the Burtons Road area when travelling by vehicle but this needs to be balanced against the overall improvements to the local environment resulting from reduced traffic movements.

Double yellow line waiting restrictions will also be required around all three measures to ensure visibility and provision for turning. This will remove parking for the extent of the restrictions although loading and unloading will still be permitted. It is estimated that 10 on-street parking spaces will be lost as a result of these proposals.

Before deciding whether to proceed, the Council would like to hear your views on the proposed measures. If there is sufficient support in taking forward the experimental trial, we would look to implement the measures during the Autumn.

Please give us your views by completing the online survey below. If you require a paper copy of the questionnaire, please email trafficandengineering@richmondandwandsworth.gov.uk.

All feedback will be considered by your Ward Councillors and the Chair of the Transport and Air Quality Service Committee.