Improvements to Wandsworth Bridge Road begin

A new beginning for Wandsworth Bridge Road

We have some very positive news to share about big improvements coming soon to WBR.

Over the past year we have been working closely with LBHF to develop the proposals for the ambitious re-design of the Wandsworth Bridge Road in line with the vision of a thriving  Clean, Green High Street. As a reminder, these are based around many of the original ideas in our High Streets for All proposals.

LBHF have now appointed a Project Management Team to work with us and the community and we are thrilled to announce that they have commissioned WSP consultants to develop the optimum redesigns along every part of the road!

Together with LBHF and WSP have been exploring ideas that will help with the ‘Psychological Shift’, changing how the road is perceived – from one that’s just a commuter through-route to one that is a thriving, pedestrian and cycle friendly residential road with strong, independent local businesses.

We are looking at all aspects of the road, including junctions, crossings, pavements, cycling provisions, signage, buses, trees, greenery, lighting and more. The objective is to deliver a pedestrian and cycle friendly local residential area with a well supported, independent local high street that serves many the communities’ needs.

While some of these measures are longer term there are substantial changes that are coming in the short-term that will begin to redefine how this road is perceived. (see more below). LBHF are committed to seeing through the proposals, as demonstrated through their partnership with WSP, finally giving the Wandsworth Bridge Road the much needed attention it deserves. We, as the WBRA, also remain committed to progressing this vision ensuring full community and business engagement.

We will be running further Workshops and Street Pop-ups over the coming months to present the work in progress and to further refine them with the community. We invite everyone from the community to be active participants in this consultation and development process.

Come and share your ideas

If you would like to register your interest in future workshops please register your interest here or send us an email directly with your ideas.

Immediate improvements on the Road begin this autumn

Pending the total redesign of the WBR, LBHF have agreed to implement a series of immediate protections on the WBR to address the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, and to manage traffic volumes.

Making WBR Safer

As you may be aware, there were a series of serious collisions with pedestrians in September at various points along the road. This has now become an almost daily occurrence. In every case speeding vehicles were to blame. This illustrates quite clearly how drivers view this road – as one to be sped through as quickly as possible.

Over the summer the WBRA, together with Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), conducted speeds check on the road. The maximum speed recorded was 44 mph (in a 20mph zone!) with an average speeding rate of 35mph. These were recorded during the day! See the full stats here.

The council has agreed to immediately implement these initial changes:

On Wandsworth Bridge Northbound (LBHF side):

• Extension of red/white barriers on the bridge to extend the cycle lane up to the Cycle Priority box, creating a single lane of traffic at the light.
• Cycle Priority box at the traffic light to be repainted Green, to reinforce cycle priority
• Advisory Cycle through-lane across the Townmead / Carnwath junction in green to guide cyclists coming off the bridge on to Wandsworth Bridge Road, as well as southbound off WBR onto the bridge.

Entry onto WBR northbound from bridge:

• Rumble strips on road at entry point to deter speeding
• Cycle stencils at the entry to point onto WBR
• White paint on curb and central island southern junction of WBR and Townmead / Carnwath to create a visual width restriction, encouraging vehicles to slow down
• No overtaking cycles sign on side of road at narrow entrance point to WBR (subject to TSRG compliance)
• ‘Cycle Priority / No overtaking’ markings on road at entry (subject to TSRG compliance)
• Cycle stencils in the middle of the road at its narrowest point where overtaking is unsafe. (from entry up towards Stephendale/Hugon zebra crossing)

At each junction with a side road:

• Green painting of cycle lane to reinforce the priority of cyclists

At each traffic island:

• Green cycle lane widens to highlight the pinch-point and prevent cars overtaking cyclists

At each zebra crossing:

• Repainting of white lines
• Improve lighting with spotlights
• Anti-skid surface on either side

SIDS (Speed Indicator Device signs):

• New SIDs which show the drivers’ actual speed, along with either a green smiling face when obeying the limit or a red frowning face when they are speeding

All of the above are central to begin redefining how the road is viewed, particularly to those speeding through who see it simply as an extension of the A3.

We look forward to all of the above being undertaken in the coming weeks.

Further GLA Funding

This past May we applied for the second round of funding through the GLA’s High Streets for All initiative. As one of several applicants our bid sought further funding to help with community and business engagement. Sadly the Wandsworth Bridge Road was not one of the selected projects. Notwithstanding, we are delighted that LBHF have committed to seeing through the proposals. The partnership with WSP is a demonstration of their commitment to finally giving the Wandsworth Bridge Road the much needed attention it deserves.