| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Chiswick predictions for 2026 | |
| Posted by: | Francis Rowe | |
| Date/Time: | 07/01/26 08:20:00 |
| Although the conclusions reached by Hounslow's transport team were made a few years ago, nothing has really changed that much in the intervening period so, unless you can suggest reasons otherwise, the more likely position is that their report remains valid. You are misunderstanding the concerns of residents of the area about the impact of the bus gate. There may have been more traffic on Wellesely Road when it provided access to the South Circular but it is the roads between CHR and Wellesley Road that now have the problem. SatNavs and local knowledge has led to lots of drivers leaving the queue back from the Acton Lane junction and cutting down these roads. The council officers need to take into account quality of life issues for local people but TfL don't. It would of course be possible to reintroduce the bus lanes and keep the bus gate but that currently isn't on the table, presumably because Hounslow's transport team believe the loss of parking revenue and a mature tree would be too high a price to pay if there was no quid pro quo. The Mayor remains under pressure to do something about buses and for personal reasons he will not want his legacy to be a serious decline in the service. 190 metres extra bus lane on CHR is not alot but there are simply no quick wins for him to get to the targeted increase in the priority network and any increase will have to be made up of marginal gains like this. There are just over two years since the next Mayoral election so Sir Sadiq needs to act now turnaround bus performance. That's why I think we will hear something on this, this year. The bus gate may or may not be part of any deal but if TfL do nothing, then the Mayor's opponents will hit him hard over his failure on buses, the public transport type most used by London voters. |