Forum Topic

To the lovely van driver in Duke Rd…

who held back for me when he could see  me struggling to drive north up the road from Bourne Place - a big thank you.  Six other southbound, lemming-like drivers had seen me but declined to hold back so I could get through, even though they didn’t get to exit Duke Rd any faster as a result. When I wound down my window to thank him as I was passing him he smiled and said “Well it’s just common sense isn’t it?”.  Quite.

Marie Power ● 1469d29 Comments

That's good to hear. From what I have observed the removal of the right hand turn at the junction with Chiswick High Road has caused some problems at this junction. Previously a right turning vehicles would create a barrier which would allow several left turning vehicles to emerge onto CHR. Now, when traffic is busy you are reliant on the good will of a driver letting you onto the High Road and they are generally reluctant to do so because of the long red phase for the lights by Dukes Avenue. This results in tailbacks down Duke Road and may have contributed to the issues you were having.It also means that the Cycleway will more or less constantly have a vehicle laying across it when traffic is heavy.The complication is that there are a number of clear advantages to closing off the right turn on Duke Road including reducing the risk at the very dangerous Fishers Lane junction. I have no idea how this could be resolved.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1469d

I think we should ask the cycle lobby bids advising the Council to sort this problem, they caused it.

Maggie Dodge ● 1469d

MD: "I think we should ask the cycle lobby bids advising the Council to sort this problem, they caused it." RC: But not the [quote] "six other southbound, lemming-like drivers had seen me but declined to hold back"?Fact is, the present delays on CHR are down to the closure of the A316. And the OP's difficulty was down to six out of seven inconsiderate and impatient vehicle drivers.

Richard Cathcart ● 1469d

A cycle lane does not work along  Chiswick High Road  because of all the side turnings. There are always works of one kind or another so there will always be something else to blame, but they just make a bad situation worse.!

Maggie Dodge ● 1469d

It is not CS9 which is causing the present exceptional congestion on CHR, it is the restrictions on the A316.And that being the case, it was not CS9 which delayed the OP from turning out of Duke Road. As she said herself, it was the half dozen selfish motorists who willfully refused to allow her out.Which if I may say so, is rather like your own willful refusal to accept the obvious facts laid out before you, presumably because they don't suit your extreme anti-cycling agenda.

Richard Cathcart ● 1469d

something needs to change in Duke Road quickly. The northern end is not wide enough to have cars parked on both sides and this leads to utter chaos. Cars are finding it really hard to turn onto the High Road, which results in a log tail back up Duke Road. This makes it impossible to travel up Duke Road in the opposite direction.

David King ● 1469d

You can ask your Councillors to lobby the Council to implement traffic restrictions or parking restrictions to enable locals to have access to their homes without being blocked by through-drivers. They are Joanna Biddolph, Ranjit Gill and Ronnie Mushiso. Good luck because they are 4 wheel libertarians (very good Mr Fish) who believe very strongly in untrammelled driving for all.

Paul Campbell ● 1469d

Probably best to just get rid of the cycle lane and return Chiswick to its former glory.

Maggie Dodge ● 1469d

Fascinating to see Paul slate his buddy Ronnie. I thought they were bros.Anyhoo...many in the Glebe estate have lobbied to have full access to their homes maintained. Yet we are forced to sit in traffic either on the High Road or on Chiswick Lane rather than go down Devonshire freely and easily as you do Paul when accessing the Grove Park LTN with that spiffy white list. I must say traffic on the estate has gotten worse with cars attempting to avoid the high road and/or the A4. Pity the site lines are rubbish on the secondary route we're all forced to use. But to Richard's incorrect point, one can no longer turn right when coming out of Dukes Road and that's down to the temporary version of CS9 as well as the forth coming more permanent version 12.348.

David Lesniak ● 1468d

"It is not CS9 which is causing the present exceptional congestion on CHR, it is the restrictions on the A316."I thought it was the restrictions on the A4 while they repair the railway bridge ?

Richard Greenhough ● 1468d

"Probably best to just get rid of the cycle lane and return Chiswick to its former glory."Yep, bring back the trams along CHR.

Richard Greenhough ● 1468d

One thing I always found beyond bewildering is that in London you can have roads like Duke rd (the whole Glebe estate, plus places like Antrobus/Rotschild/many more) with cars parked on either side AND dual sense of circulation. It just doesn't work.One way streets should be implemented.

Francis Sheehan ● 1468d

You really do have to make sure that low speed limits are maintained if you choose to have one way streets.Unfortunately the number of motorists and cyclists who go much faster because nothing should be travelling towards them in the opposite direction is immense.  They also seem to think that they have superpowers to see round corners -which everyone else knows they don't have. These motorists and cyclists need to be constantly reminded that they are supposed to give way to pedestrians - and that pedestrians need to be able to walk safely - and slowly if necessary - from one side of the road to the other.

Philippa Bond ● 1468d

The limit would normally be 20 mph - are you saying it should be reduced further ?

Richard Greenhough ● 1468d

I thought I was old but I don’t recall trams 😂

Maggie Dodge ● 1468d

I live on one of the roads mentioned . There are no issues as far as I’m concerned. No need for one way systems. Unlike cyclists we don’t demand a lot and we manage really well,  by just having a bit of patience and good manners. The same system that has worked for so many years on Fishers Lane

Maggie Dodge ● 1468d

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_United_TramwaysThe old LUT Power House can still be seen just off CHR.

Richard Greenhough ● 1468d

Just saying that one way streets can cause increased recklessness because of the lack of expectation of oncoming traffic.  Many don't seem to realise that that is a maximum speed anyway and road and weather conditions need to also be taken into account when judging a safe speed.

Philippa Bond ● 1468d

One of the most efficient ways of restricting the speed of through traffic must be to have cars parked on either side of the road.  Many years ago my uncle was campaigning against speeding traffic in his home town and used to roll a battered old pram into the road (empty!) and watch the fun!A phenomenon of the past few days has been the grid lock we're getting in Antrobus and Montgomery in the afternoon as I imagine vehicles are being led by their sat-navs to save a few minutes by dodging and weaving between Bollo and Acton Lanes - including a coach this afternoon!  To no avail, as it turns out, as they just can't pass each other (because of the parked cars!) and get jammed up at the Bollo Lane end to everyone's annoyance.

Peter Evans ● 1467d

You might need to be more inventive than a bare pramhttps://www.wired.com/story/99-phones-fake-google-maps-traffic-jam/

Russell Pearson ● 1467d

There’s currently an issue with Kingswood being closed, that’s causing extra traffic in adjoining roads

Maggie Dodge ● 1467d

The good old days ...Sybil Pearce, a Bedford Park resident born in 1900, wrote fondly of the horse drawn buses in her wonderful memoirs:‘Some of my favourite days were those on which my Mother decided to go ’up to town’ shopping.  We would catch a two-horse omnibus in the Bath Road outside the Tabard Inn and my great joy was to seat myself just behind the driver on the top of the ‘bus in the front seat. I remember one driver in particular – a fat, red haired man wearing green woollen mittens. I loved the way he brandished his whip and clucked his teeth at the horses.'(from http://www.stamfordbrook.org.uk/index.php/omnibus-trams)

Andrew Jones ● 1467d

Interesting to see that even the people who benefit without realising it from the LTN restriction next to The Swan are now feeling the impact of Sat Navs piling unsuitable vehicles down their narrow residential streets. Paging the other 4 wheel Libertarian Councillors Andrew Steed, Gary Malcolm and Gary Busuttil. Must be time to rip out The Swan LTN and let the traffic flow freely surely?

Paul Campbell ● 1467d

Thank you for that link, Andrew.I note that the "Duchess of Cambridge" pub was previously called "The Queen of England"Not so sure about the "England" bit ("UK"?, but it might be an appropriate time to rename it "The Queen Elizabeth II" or somesuch?

Richard Cathcart ● 1467d

Glad to see you’re now anti LTNs Paul. One out all out.  Finally on the same page

Maggie Dodge ● 1467d

It's amazing how little people know and learn about the streets around them unless they walk them.  Satnavs will send you down narrow, and totally unsuitable roads including ones that are flooded at high tide or are closed to particilar vehicles which may be the car in front of you.

Philippa Bond ● 1467d

"It's amazing how little people know and learn about the streets around them unless they walk them."I've always found the best way to get to know an area is on a bicycle.

Richard Greenhough ● 1467d

"I've always found the best way to get to know an area is on a bicycle." Which is why those who do so have a much better understanding of how the roads actually work in Chiswick than the cagers.

Paul Campbell ● 1467d

I’ve discovered the names of roads that I’ve driven down for years, now that they come up on my sat nav .  Do you notice road names more by cycling than walking?

Maggie Dodge ● 1467d