A once-bustling London road decimated by unpopular traffic-calming measures has been dealt another blow – as so-called parklets are being installed.
Wandsworth Bridge Road in Fulham, South-West London, faces death from a thousand cuts after a series of hits from its local council.
First Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s ‘Clean Air Neighbourhood’ introduced measures to stop side streets being used by outsiders, which effectively funnelled all the cars onto the main strip.
Now – with families claiming traffic hell throughout the day – both vehicles and cyclists have been impeded even further by parklets, another name for planters and decking.
They are not yet finished but are already causing problems for those on bikes, who now have to veer in front of cars to avoid them, causing danger for them and slowing progress down further.
And locals fear it will only be a matter of time before someone is knocked over and hurt – or even worse.
Cyclist Robin Bath, 81, from Fulham, told : ‘They originally put more measures on the road to attract more cyclists on the road. But now they have closed them off which feels a bit in your face. The traffic on that road is now gridlocked all the way up to the bridge.
‘The decking has made the road so narrow it means a cyclist has to swing out into the middle of the road. Which isn’t very safe. It goes a couple of metres into the road.
‘My journey has been slowed down because where the decking was used to be a cycle path. It feels like putting this in is contradicting with the green measures they put in place to make the road safer for cyclists.
‘I know it has also impacted businesses as it gives them problems with trying to load their stock in. So it’s a double whammy.
‘It seems a bit crazy to put tables and chairs on their and do street dining next to such a busy road. Someone could easily get knocked off when trying to go round or even worse.’
Liam Francis, 21, said the parklets were a dangerous addition to a road that was already busy ‘all day’.
The supervisor, who works at Bridge Baker Coffee Shop, said: ‘The traffic is terrible. It’s busy all day, but from 9am until 11am and 5pm and 6pm it’s crazy. I’ve been relegated to taking the train because the bus is so unreliable on getting me to work at time.
‘It’s already dangerous for cyclists on the road. Especially in London, so now they have an obstacle which stops them riding close to the pavement is very annoying for them.’
Roberto Barcelona, 35, who has owned the famous Randalls butchers for five years branded the additions to the road ‘ridiculous’.
He added: ‘We don’t know who wants these. Nobody made a consultation to find out it was a good idea to make a place for someone to have a picnic in the middle of the street.
‘Nobody explained to us why they wanted to do this. If the council wants to help us they would put something in like a loading bay.
‘If they had spoken to us about it to work with us to find a way to save the planet then we would be on board. But they haven’t told us anything.’
And local businessman Richard Bird said the problem had been exacerbated by the extra traffic due to the Hammersmith bridge being shut.
He added: ‘I’m going to wait until someone gets killed and it nearly happened the other day. Because they restricted the width of the road, there is rush hour traffic either way and a guy on a bike was nearly hit the other day by someone who didn’t see him as they went round it.
‘The idea was to use it to make the traffic go away. Well that has clearly not worked.
‘I used to park my car in front of the shop to unload. But now if I park there for even a minute while unloading, I get a ticket.
‘I’ve seen people on their bikes, get to the decking, get off to go round it and then get back on again.’
The introduction of the parklets come after Labour-run Hammersmith & Fulham Council introduced a Clean Air Neighbourhood scheme in the area.
The road had been known for some famous faces at one time. Grand Designs’ Kevin McCloud had a lighting business nearby and domestic goddess Nigella Lawson would visit her favourite butcher Randalls on the stretch.
Hussain Hashem, 38, manager of Abi’s Barber, said he understood what the council’s initial idea had been.
But he said it had backfired, adding: ‘What they did in the beginning was good with not allowing rat running. But the road is now more narrow and it is already a very busy road and everyone needs to use the bridge.
‘There is no alternative route. To do deliveries is getting so hard for all the local shops. Nobody knows what is going on. There is so much traffic until midnight and it very noisy. There is even more traffic because there is no room for the cyclists because of the decking.’
Shopkeeper Ben Uresin, 30, said the roads had got busier since the scheme was introduced.
He told : ‘Our customers all come from round here. But the cannot find a place to park his car when he is in and it’s difficult for our delivery drivers.
‘The decking looks ok I don’t know the reason of it. It looks useless. Hopefully it looks better when they finish. It can’t be good for the traffic, We will have to wait and see when they finish.”
Planners believed the initial road measures would help cut down pollution and traffic but locals say the unwanted side effect has caused chaos.
Cars and vans that had previously used the streets simply started using Wandsworth Bridge Road.
Families and businesses based there say it saw a huge increase in traffic as well as well as the constant snarl-ups discouraging potential shoppers.
Parklets, sometimes described as ‘eyesores’ and a ‘waste of taxpayers’ cash’, have seen swathes of pavement and parking spaces replaced with seating areas and flower beds.
Over the pandemic the US-style parklets were built in Britain’s town and cities.
Councils gave businesses permission to build seating areas on parts of the pavement and sometimes side of the road so customers could sit outside.
Drivers have since warned that parklets were the latest example of their freedoms being eroded .
Hugh Bladon, founder of Alliance of British Drivers, a lobby group for motorists, told back in 2020: ‘Councils all over the country, the one thing they hate is anybody using the car or any kind of four-wheeled vehicle.
‘They will do anything they can to make it as miserable as possible for drivers.’
But not everyone is against the scheme and the new additions to the street.
The Hammersmith and Fulham branch of the London Cycling Campaign said it was in favour of the new development.
A spokesperson said: ‘The changes taking place are returning it from a highway to a high street.
‘The redesign and signing, along with the improved aspect of the traffic reductions to the neighbouring side streets are turning it into a place where people want to come and spend time, use the local facilities, and patronise the local artisan businesses.
‘The chicaning of the road slows drivers down by changing behaviour by default. People cycling are repositioned to take the centre of the lane, both reducing traffic speeds to safer levels and addressing the scary feeling of close passes. Having previously had people speed down the road at over 90mph, this is a welcome and much needed direction of development. You build for the future you want, not the present you want to leave behind.’
And the council too is proud of its endeavours and has a whole section on its website on the scheme.
It trumpets: ‘Hammersmith & Fulham Council is creating a borough of Clear Air Neighbourhoods to help tackle our toxic air pollution crisis.
‘A range of measures including tree planting, traffic reduction trials, sustainable drainage schemes, school streets initiatives and improved infrastructure for walking and cycling will work together to improve air quality and people’s health.’
Cllr Sharon Holder, H&F Cabinet Member for Public Realm is also quoted and points out: ‘The air on our streets needs to be cleaner. Polluted air makes people ill – especially children. It can be a killer,
‘So we’re pioneering a Clean Air Neighbourhood programme to do something about it.’
A council spokesperson told there were fewer cars using the road and dismissed the idea there was increased traffic as ‘nonsense’.
They said: ‘The new parklets are designed to make cycling safer, not more dangerous.
‘They are a tried and tested way of reducing the speed of cars and lorries, improving driver concentration and prioritising road space for cyclists. Similar measures have been used successfully across the country.
‘It is also nonsense to say traffic has increased in Wandsworth Bridge Road. There are now 15,000 fewer cars using the area every day thanks to the Clean Air Neighbourhood programme, with the data clearly showing reductions on the main road as well as the residential side streets.’