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#Post#: 67895--------------------------------------------------
Rivercourt Road (LBH&F)
By: John U.K. Date: April 21, 2025, 7:09 am
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From the Sunday Telegraph
HTML https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/04/19/labour-councils-ltn-risks-endangering-people-engineers-warn/
Labour council’s LTN risks endangering people, engineers warned
Hammersmith and Fulham was told last year that limiting
Rivercourt Road to local traffic could put pedestrians and
cyclists at risk
Steve Bird
19 April 2025 6:23pm BST
15
Britain’s smallest low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) risks putting
cyclists and pedestrians in danger, engineers warned.
The London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham controversially
banned out-of-town motorists from a popular cut-through
HTML https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/30/labour-council-350ft-ltn-motorists-cash-cow/,<br
/>between the A4 and west London, to “improve road safety”.
But a safety audit report commissioned by the Labour-led local
authority shows that independent engineers were concerned that
the closure of Rivercourt Road could end with pedestrians “hit
by vehicles” and cars “colliding with cyclists”.
Last year, the council was criticised for creating a “cash cow”
by closing the 350ft-long road and imposing £130 fines for
infractions. It was predicted that 3,200 motorists would be
barred from the route each day as a result.
The safety audit – published in October, one month before the
LTN turned the one-way road two-way – listed a series of
concerns, some because the street was sandwiched between the
busy A4 and Hammersmith’s King Street and its cycle lane.
It said: “Drivers on King Street may not see cyclists on the
cycle track and [might] collide with them as they turn into the
road.”
It warned that cyclists might be “completely within drivers’
blind spots”, with motorists having to “look over their
shoulders” to try to spot bikes.
It added: “Drivers turning through the cycle-track may therefore
fail to give way to cyclists resulting in vehicle collisions
with cycles.”
The audit claimed new “quite sharp” angles at Rivercourt Road in
the otherwise straight cycle lane might “result in conflict
between cyclists travelling in opposite directions” with bike
riders “coming close to one another”.
The council responded that the “accentuated deflection and cycle
lane narrowing” was intentional because it “forced cyclists to
slow down”.
Analysis of Transport for London (TfL) crash data has previously
shown that the creation of the bi-directional cycle lane on King
Street, a one-way street for cars, saw a marked increase in
serious and slight injuries to cyclists.
The audit warned that making the road two-way could take
pedestrians unawares. It said: “Pedestrians walking along King
Street may not realise they need to check for vehicles in both
directions as they cross and may be hit by vehicles turning into
Rivercourt Road.”
The council responded by claiming familiarity with the change
would be “acquired upon first use”, adding that the “absence of
no entry signs” for motorists would help pedestrians realise the
road was now two-way. It said that “intentional friction” would
also “force” motorists to drive more slowly.
The audit also warned that the road would be blighted with a
“cacophony of road signs”.
Last year, Latymer Upper School, the £8,000-a-term private
school with a campus on one side of Rivercourt Road, warned the
council that the LTN could “pose risks” to students.
The school – alumni of which include Hugh Grant, the actor –
wrote to parents to say it had “outlined their strong
opposition” and had provided “additional supervision” for
pupils, after the street became two-way “overnight”.
The audit warned that vehicles “travelling at relatively high
speeds and in close proximity” on the A4 were at risk of “rear
end shunts, or loss-of-control collisions” as their drivers
swerve around cars turning into Rivercourt Road.
The reports shows that the council “partially accepted” six and
rejected three of the engineers’ recommendations to make the
design safer.
A council spokesman said: “Residents in Rivercourt Road were
faced with 4,000 cars a day needlessly cutting through and
gridlocking their small street.
“They asked us to take action to reduce the congestion and
increase safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
“We are really pleased to report that the neighbourhood
improvement scheme has done just that. The street is
significantly less congested. Residents tell us it is a quieter,
safer and nicer place to live.”
“We are really pleased to report that the neighbourhood
improvement scheme has done just that. The street is
significantly less congested. Residents tell us it is a quieter,
safer and nicer place to live.”
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