Forum Topic

Burlington Lane - A316 No Entry Signs

Has anyone noticed the no entry signs at the junction of Burlington Lane and the A316?They seemed to just spring up yesterday?

John Novak ● 1715d42 Comments

Yes that’s the new scheme being implemented for south Chiswick. It’s very complicated but unless you are a resident of a particular zone in that area you will no longer be able to access from the A316. You need to go to Hogarth roundabout and access via Sutton court road. Burlington Lane is no entry from A316 ,  From 24th this month Staveley road will be access for permit holders only 8am to 7pm. Mon to sat (current no access times are 8-9am and 2.45-3.45pm And Hartingdon rd can only be accessed from A316 by residents.  Hounslow council are offering a degree course for those who wish to understand the scheme fully.

Alina Dansord ● 1715d

I'm afraid you're heading for a Desmond at best and maybe a Douglas then Alina!The timings of the Staveley, Hartington and Strand on the Green schemes have all been amended and normalised to 8am - 7pm Mon to Sat. Hartington is like Staveley in that some Grove Park residents are eligible for a permit that will allow them to drive through during the restriction times. All from the 24th with current restrictions applying until then.

Paul Campbell ● 1715d

So to clarify: from 24th Jan, if I am coming north over Chiswick Bridge and do not have a permit, I can turn left into Hartington or Staveley provided it is before 8 am or after 7pm Mon-Sat, or a Sunday ?In other words, the Hartington restrictions are actually been eased somewhat ?

Simon Tranter ● 1715d

Correct Simon.

Paul Campbell ● 1715d

OK and one final question - after 24th Jan, I will still be able to enter Grove Park at Sutton Court Road and exit on Hartington Road 24/7 ?

Simon Tranter ● 1715d

Alina, I am dismayed but not surprised that you have been jumped on for misunderstanding the do's and don'ts of these changes.It is clear just from what has been written on  W4 that a great many people have  been confused. Confusion created largely by the people responsible for implementing these restrictions. When there fines start piling up it will become all to clear how poorly communicated and confusing they are.

Adrian Irving ● 1715d

Is it not the case that, in patronisingly mansplaining the restrictions to Alina, Paul Campbell just confirmed what she said?

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1715d

It is the poor communication which has made them confusing - having now read and digested everything on the Hounslow website I can see the all the restrictions have now been harmonised, which in theory seems like a better approach. This message has simply been lost.

Simon Tranter ● 1715d

Yes that is also correct Simon you will still be able to enter at SCR and exit on HR.

Paul Campbell ● 1715d

Whats the point of blocking access to Burlington Lane and others like Staveley.. is the congestion/traffic deemed so bad in those roads?Hounslow/Chiswick roads have become a disaster for getting around on!

John Novak ● 1715d

It’s now a bit clearer. I hadn’t realised that the timings for SOTG and Hartingdon were bing eased. Clear as mud now till the next amendment. I starting my thesis now but struggling on a title without profanity.

Alina Dansord ● 1715d

The drama of adapting urban streets definitely deserves a behavioural science thesis. I'm thinking of a comic novel myself. I've been taking notes for three years and have some very developed characters.

Paul Campbell ● 1715d

John - answers to your question available on the Hounslow website:tinyurl.com/abk6h867It's quite a long read but if you really want to know...!

Tamara Mehta ● 1715d

Already been written “The Great Escape “ The worm will turn

Bernard Allen ● 1715d

The new restrictions for Staveley Road come into force on 24 January. The current restrictions are still in force legally until then. However, the signage on Staveley Road regarding the current 8am-9am and 2.45pm-3.45pm restrictions has been removed. I submit that, in the absence of such signage, LBH cannot legally enforce any fines issued for those periods. Am I correct? If so, that stretch of Staveley Road can at the moment be used 24/7 by all and sundry with or without a permit!!!

Jim Currie ● 1714d

In addition, we can all ignore the no-entry signs just put up at the entrance to Burlington Lane from the A316 until 24 Jan !!!

Jim Currie ● 1714d

One final hurrah to celebrate the end of peak car! Enjoy.

Paul Campbell ● 1714d

Paul Campbell explained" I'm thinking of a comic novel myself. "You should get yourself another agent."Boring Everyone Rigid For Dummies"would be much more in your line.michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 1714d

Ealing resident who shops in Sainsbury's on Thursday and then drives to Dukes Meadow to play golf. Hounslow council are outdoing Ealing seemingly as I approached Staveley Road today I saw the new signs, didn't see that the start date is 24th January, so I drove onto the A316 junction to access the road there.A Chiswick resident at the golf course was at a loss to explain why Saturday's are included given the steps are to have a car free road outside the school there. Pure madness was his explanation from the Burghers who don't even live in Chiswick! I think their counterparts in Ealing at least do.

peter king ● 1714d

Well I’m holding Paul Campbell responsible for pushing more traffic onto residential roads in South Chiswick, Now that Robinson and Campbell  have got their own gated communities, they don’t won’t to know about the problems this scheme has created. In added pollution to to Chiswick residents plus the extra traffic now using our residential roads. Well done gentlemen  one of you will probably be awarded an MBE for services rendered to The ruling party. Talking of parties “The Party’s over that’s call it a day”  Never, gentlemen.

Bernard Allen ● 1714d

" I submit that, in the absence of such signage, LBH cannot legally enforce any fines issued for those periods. Am I correct?"Possibly.  If you enter Staveley Road during the current controlled hours, the new signs are at that time correct for both the current and the new regulations.  An adjudicator hearing could go either way.  I wouldn't recommend it!

Richard Jennings ● 1714d

“ Hounslow/Chiswick roads have become a disaster for getting around on!”They  don’t want you to get around. They want you locked in with no spirit or sense of adventure or spontaneity. They want sheeples!  They want High Streets empty of shops and shoppers. They want to build more flats and social housing on the High Streets so that they can bus in more voters!!

Steve Taylor ● 1714d

Seeing as the rest of us aren't allowed to use these roads, I wonder if the good people of Grove Park should pay a surcharge on their Council Tax for the cleaning and upkeep of their Private Roads.

stephen gould ● 1712d

And the vast majority of people living in the Homefields Ward of Chiswick (bounded by the river, the A316, Turnham Green Terrace, Bath Road-ish, Goldhawk Road) where there are only 7 through roads that divers can access to take them across Chiswick. Only four of them are through the ward. The other three are on its boundaries. Everybody else in that area lives on a road that we can't drive through. Surely they should pay a surcharge on their Council Tax for the cleaning and upkeep of their Private Roads?

Paul Campbell ● 1712d

As a resident of this now blocked off area, I don't want to exclude anyone.  Nor do I want to pay more for something I don't want at all.

Vivienne Cox ● 1712d

Ok if everyone is being childish tonight I’ll go one better.There are quiet a few private roads dotted around the Homefields ward, so there not even looked after by Hounslow council.  The residents pay a surcharge to the leasing company. Two of the busiest roads in Homefield are not even looked after by Hounslow Highways they reside inside the confines of a local park.If Hounslow Highways have recently taken over these roads, then I suggest they very quickly resurface them to the standard of a normal residential road so they can take the extra weight of the Coaches that will be using them, plus make sure the road is wide enough for two coaches to pass one and other with out driving along the pavement. I could go on, but the post would get even more childish , wood en hit .

Bernard Allen ● 1712d

I do not agree with the latest changes but I do not find them confusing.Effectively we have a one way system.  You can enter GP from the north and exit to the south (or north) but you cannot enter from the south.It is true that GP and particularly SCR was used as a cut through but because LBH didn't want or couldn't measure the number of cars who were using the cut through to get to north of the A4 (surely all it required was to count the number of cars entering GP from the south and then the number of cars turning left from SCR to A4) we are left not knowing how many cars will now need to go to the Hogarth Roundabout and then either use Chiswick Lane exit or the right turn junction of A4/SCR both of which have well known safety issues.  Should be interesting(!!) to see if accident rates rise there

Justin Stephenson ● 1712d

Except Paul, as you well know, there are no penalties for anyone using the roads in Homefields to which you refer. Not for any residents from elsewhere in the borough nor for local businesses nor for trades people. But you know that. And you omit that. No surprise there.

David Lesniak ● 1712d

You are forgetting LBH did install traffic counters but the Grove Park “foxes” decided to cut them! However, we know from DfT data that around 8000 vehicles a day used Hartington and Staveley Roads prior to the restrictions, and INRIX indicates through traffic has fallen by two thirds. LBH make the reasonable estimate that 3000 vehicles will be heading north on the Great Chertsey Road and turning left at Hogarth rather than cutting through Grove Park to the SCR/A4 junction. That traffic will be keeping on A roads rather than driving through a residential area, reducing the overall risk to pedestrians and cyclists. Traffic heading up to Chiswick Lane wouldn’t be going through Grove Park in the first place - the diverted traffic will be heading west from Hogarth. Some will turn at SCR, but that’s safer than it otherwise crossing the A4 at SCR - it’s the interaction of traffic from SCR at that junction that is the disproportionate cause of collisions, specifically southbound SCR vehicles turning right on to the A4 across N bound SCR traffic. That interaction will be reduced. Overall there will undoubtedly be fewer collisions in Grove Park due to the restrictions, and most likely fewer collisions at the A4/SCR junction.

Tom Pike ● 1712d

TomBut from the Alexandra Bridge  A316 to the Hogarth roundabout is a residential area. So the new scheme will increase the pollution on that stretch of road. You have flats, a school, a retirement complex , private houses and a nursing home directly having to put up with the increased pollution by the vehicles which will using that route.The new scheme has also done away with an official coach park in Staveley Road , Hounslow in their wisdom have created Coach turning circles in Dukes Meadows  and other forms of parking spaces on the Promenade.The general public being what they are have found ways around some of the restrictions put in place back in 2020. The vehicle the used to use Dan Mason  Drive to  access the clubs near the the railway bridge, now use Riverside Drive, that drive around to the Virgin Heath club park in the road near to the bridge and walk under the bridge to gain access to the sports clubs adjacent to that end of DMD.So now this old scheme has increased the vehicles movements on Riverside Drive. So along with Hounslow’s attempt to increase vehicle usage on the same road is making Riverside Drive a lot more dangerous for the children who have to use this road to get to school.We shall see how this situation progresses through the coming months, but if one child gets injured we know is partly to blame for the bad road management.Hounslow Council and for certain residents who have been continuing lobbying the local authority over the last few years.

Bernard Allen ● 1712d

We also do have a comprehensive traffic count from the study conducted by Hounslow Council with the tube counters in Sep and Oct 2019 when Grove Park was used as a shortcut to avoid the Hogarth roundabout before OneChiswick was formed and before foxes were trained to cut multiple cables in one night. Those numbers have been published and discussed at length on this forum and in many other places. Here is a Chiswick Calendar article with the numbers. There were A LOT of vehicles using Grove Park as a shortcut to avoid the Hogarth roundabout.https://chiswickcalendar.co.uk/dramatic-drops-in-traffic-in-south-chiswick/

Paul Campbell ● 1712d

As you say Paul A lot of vehicles were using GP as a cut through. One of the benefits of the new scheme is that number of vehicles is reduced. However I really don’t understand why residents are being  restricted.  It would be very simple to allow all GP/ South Chiswick residents  access to the zone from all entry and exit points. Instead we are being forced to make longer journeys to get in and out of the area. We are also adding to pollution and congestion but sitting in traffic on the surrounding roads. We would also be more likely to support local businesses. as an example I would frequently return home to GP from Richmond via Hartingdon and stop to use the shops on station parade. I never use these shops now. I also never shop in Chiswick now and favour Richmond or Sheen.

Alina Dansord ● 1712d

Ah but then the South Chiswick residents would be accused of living in a private gated community and people would call on them to pay more Council Tax. People living in South Chiswick shouldn't be exempt from the responsibility to reduce their use of cars for local journeys. I don't really understand why a short detour of a couple of mins in you local area would be enough to persuade you to drive for much longer than that to other places to shop like Richmond (which I find to be a horrible environment to shop in) but we can all make our own decisions about how we live our lives and to what degree we wish to exercise responsibility to reduce the pollution we cause by driving. Thankfully I do know people in South Chiswick who have ben encouraged to reduce their use of cars for shopping in Chiswick because of these measures.

Paul Campbell ● 1712d

“ Nor do I want to pay more for something I don't want at all.”We all have to pay for things we don’t want. A good example is the unused cycle lanes clogging up the roads and causing untold congestion and pollution.

Steve Taylor ● 1712d

“ I also never shop in Chiswick now and favour Richmond or Sheen.”Absolutely. Much more pleasant with relatively easy parking and little risk of being run over by a speeding cyclist when you cross roads etc. I have never seen a cyclist on a pavement in Richmond either!

Steve Taylor ● 1712d

It’s a fair point that the houses along the Great Chertsey Road and A4 will see increased pollution, although traffic levels have fallen by a third since the early 2000’s. The aim of these restrictions is to further discourage driving and increase safety for more sustainable travel, to the benefit of everyone.

Tom Pike ● 1712d

Vacancies are down on the High Road. In fact a brand new restaurant is opening on Windmill Lane under the new hotel. In comparison Richmond retail is now looking pretty grim. It’s Chiswick, not Richmond, which is being cited as an example of the rebound of the High Street.https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2021/07/15/britains-high-streets-are-an-intrinsic-part-of-the-social-and-economic-fabric-of-our-cities/

Tom Pike ● 1712d

Ok, we will wait and see further into the year, when London workers living in Camberley, Frimley, Bagshot and Yateley start using the M3 again, as they are still working from home. But when they start to drift back you may see a bigger increase that the Council though. Just an aside, many Brentford supporters live in these areas, as these areas was seen as places to escape to, from  the outer London areas like Brentford and Chiswick

Bernard Allen ● 1712d

Care to comment on this clip taken from the blog you mention, Tom?Because we've never ever seen this type of focus with any of the current initiatives."In any discussion about the social and economic well-being of a high street, the physical environment is key. The quality of the public realm dignifies and civilises the urban environment and promotes a degree of civic pride and engagement. Several studies have shown that the high street not only contributes economic value but also social value to surrounding communities.In this respect, it’s important to consider the wider neighbourhood and not just the high street on its own. The quality of the environment along a high street and in its immediate vicinity contributes to its potential for social cohesion. A landscaped pocket park or well-designed bench can foster community interaction. Giving priority to the ‘urban commons’ has become a popular platform of many city administrations, including Barcelona (with the Barcelona en Comú initiative).

David Lesniak ● 1712d

Abundances contributions along TGT with an excellent example of a well-designed bench, with the civic amenity of the John Todd memorial water fountain; the partial return of the Old Market Place from parking to its original function: the too-short reflowering of Devonshire Road without through traffic.Not an exhaustive list…

Tom Pike ● 1712d

"because LBH didn't want or couldn't measure the number of cars who were using the cut through to get to north of the A4 "Justin... LBH have done no less than 4 traffic surveys across the area over the last couple of years.  There is a huge amount of data available on how traffic moves through the area and the changes as a result of the measures.  Just email the traffic department in Hounslow ask for a download link for the surveys.  If you want the full set, it will be over 1000 spreadsheets.The surveys covered both Autmatic Traffic Counters which are the tubes laid over the roadway and these measure number and speed of vehicles and what is called an Origin-Destination survey which uses cameras to track the movements of individual vehicles and the route they take through the area.  The vehicle registration from this survey is anonymised.Despite the Automatic Traffic Counters being destroyed by "foxes" last year, they were still in place for a week prior to being cut so the Grove Park "foxes" didn't succeed stopping data being from collected.I fully expect there will be further surveys later this year to measure the impact of the current scheme.I don't see why "getting to north of the A4" relevant. if a vehicle was cutting through Grove Park between the A316 and the A4, why does it matter where they are going to on the A4?

Michael Robinson ● 1711d

Professor Paul Campbell explained" I'm afraid you're heading for a Desmond at best and maybe a Douglas then Alina!"As Professor of South Chiswick Low Traffic NeighbourhoodStudies, at The University of Hounslow, surely you of all people should realise that nobody could reasonablyexpected to have fully mastered the subject without first having attended your 3 month, 2002 Updates Course, having first paid their £5000 Fee ? michael adams...

Michael Adams ● 1711d