Major new transport initiative

Tuesday February 8, 2011

A major new initiative to improve the borough’s transport network and get residents more involved in local transport issues is being launched today.

The council’s Get H&F Moving campaign includes a range of initiatives that aim to make it easier, quicker and safer for us all to get around – whether that is by bike, bus, car, motorbike, tube or on foot.

In the past few years, Hammersmith & Fulham Council has helped alleviate stress on our transport system by working with businesses and organisations like Transport for London. Two new Overground train stations and two tube stations have opened and the council was at the heart of successful campaigns to scrap the Western Extension of the Congestion Charge and the third runway at Heathrow.

However, it is now time to look to the future and do more to free-up some of the most congested roads and packed train carriages in one of London’s smallest boroughs.

For the roads, the council has published its Driver’s Charter – which contains ten practical measures to improve the experience of all road users. This includes removing unnecessary road-signs, traffic lights and speed bumps that can all slow down traffic and lead to jams. Improving vitally important north-south routes, like Fulham Palace Road, to help traffic flow more quickly is also a key pledge and calling for utility companies to be charged by the hour for digging up our roads so that they cause fewer hold-ups.

In addition, we will be improving signage in our town centres and reporting back on your views on match-day parking. We will continue our programme of road-safety improvements and are also lobbying the Mayor of London to extend his cycle-hire scheme into the borough.

But we also need your help. We are currently consulting on our borough-wide transport plan and will also be seeking feedback from residents on several smaller neighbourhood improvements over the next few months. So, if you have been stuck in traffic or delayed on the District Line or simply want to make a suggestion about how we can Get H&F Moving we want to hear from you.

Later this year, we will be arranging a Transport Summit where the best ideas and suggestions will be debated and, where appropriate, incorporated into plans to improve our transport network and Get H&F Moving.

Cllr Nick Botterill
H&F Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment