Turnham Green Terrace To Remain Open For Now
No immediate resumption of restrictions when Acton Lane work complete
Traffic on Turnham Green Terrace while access restrictions were in place
Hounslow Council have confirmed that they do not plan to start enforcing access restrictions on Turnham Green when Acton Lane fully reopens.
The banning of vehicles other than buses from driving along the length of the road without stopping to make or collect a delivery was suspended on 26 October when Acton Lane northbound was closed due to Thames Water needing to repair a main.
This work is currently scheduled to complete on Friday 27 November, although the end of the project has been delayed several times.
However, additional disruption has been caused by the temporary cycleway project overrunning due to persistent problems with traffic lights.
The council is also due to publish an interim review report on the access restriction in the next few weeks and will be delaying any resumption of enforcement until that is available.
The latest figures on PCNs issued on Turnham Green Terrace show a substantial drop off in the intensity of enforcement up until it was completely suspended due to the Acton Lane closure.
One retailer on the Terrace said, “The fall in fines being doled out is a really good sign because none of us believe this was about anything else other than bringing in extra revenue. The spotlight that has been placed on what they are doing has clearly caused at least some sense of shame.
“Any claim that they don’t hold businesses on this road in utter contempt would be completely undermined if they were to restart the fines a couple of weeks before Christmas. I don’t believe even they would do that.”
Cllr Hanif Khan, Cabinet Member for Transport and One Hounslow, said, “The restricted access scheme at Turnham Green Terrace was suspended to facilitate the emergency Thames Water works at Acton Lane. Those works are expected to be completed by the end of this week.
“Given there will still be disruption caused by the ongoing construction work for Cycleway 9, the Council will keep in place the suspension of the temporary restricted access scheme.
“A decision on the future of the temporary access restrictions will be made on Turnham Green Terrace based on the outcome of the interim review in the coming weeks.”
Cllr Sam Hearn the opposition spokesman on transport said, “The Conservative Councillors Group welcomes the admission by a senior member of the Hounslow Cabinet, confirmed at this week's meeting of the Area Forum, that the closure of Turnham Green Terrace and Devonshire Road will be reviewed ‘in the next couple of weeks’. Such a review is long overdue. It has become increasingly apparent that the closures and associated restrictions have had a detrimental impact on the many local businesses struggling to get back on their feet. For residents, these closures have often meant long detours on streets clogged with displaced traffic. The reality delivered has been far from the promised liveable neighbourhood.
“Let us all hope that there is no equivocation when these restrictions are removed. All the moth-balled parking bays must be restored and the free thirty-minute parking concession for customers and delivery drivers reintroduced. It is important that the correct lessons are learnt so that nothing like this is ever attempted again. The council should in addition provide a detailed explanation of what went wrong with its decision-making processes and why the implementation of the flawed plans was so badly bungled. On a more positive note the council should explicitly acknowledge the benefits that are expected to flow from reopening these roads.”
A petition against the access restriction on Turnham Green Terrace and Fisher's Lane has over 8,000 signatures.
A web site has been set up offering anyone fined advice on how to make an appeal.
To make comments on the arrangements contact trafficorders@hounslow.gov.uk quoting reference TMO/E005/20 for Turnham Green Terrace and TMO/E004/20 for Devonshire Road.
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November 28, 2020