23 July 2021

Next phase of cycling and pedestrian upgrades to start in Hammersmith

Works start to significantly upgrade and improve Hammersmith for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists.

Pictured is the safe cycle route created in 2020. The upgraded trial scheme will see the red and white barriers replaced with wands to improve safety for cyclists

Works to significantly upgrade and improve Hammersmith for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists start next month in King Street.

This semi-permanent scheme will form the second phase of works to create a full east-west Safer Cycle Pathway route in Hammersmith. This pop-up scheme is being introduced under a trial traffic order to help maintain and upgrade the safe cycle route that was created last year.

Meanwhile the full, permanent scheme is still being developed. It will only be introduced once Hammersmith & Fulham Council has heard from residents, analysed traffic and usage data and fixed any issues or problems with this latest interim scheme.

“Whether you are cycling, walking, taking the bus or driving, these works are a stepping stone to help foster new ways to travel safely in Hammersmith,” said Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for the Environment.

“Our goal is to make getting around in H&F better and safer for everyone – no matter how you travel. We’re committed to a final scheme to replace this trial. We will look at the data and listen to residents to develop the best Safer Cycle Pathway that we can.”

What’s planned

The first phase of this scheme will start in the western side of Hammersmith running from Lyric Square towards Goldhawk Road and Chiswick. The works will see the red and white temporary barriers removed with new wands and rubber kerbs installed to make cycle lanes safer. It will also see new islands for bus stops and more green spaces created.

The works are expected to be completed by the end of the year. It will cost more than £1million and will be fully paid for by Transport for London.

More accessible and inclusive

The improved cycle lane will run on the northern side of King Street running from Lyric Square to Macbeth Street. It will then change to the southern side of King Street passing the new Civic Campus development until Goldhawk Road. Cyclists can travel in both directions in this lane.

In the meantime, the red and white barriers will also be removed from Hammersmith Gyratory.

The route will also feature upgraded pedestrian crossings designed to allow for much better access for Disabled residents. We have worked closely with our local Disabled Residents Team (DRT) and Disabled Residents Working Group (DRWG) to design these changes, and recently visited similar schemes in Hounslow to discuss what would work best in Hammersmith.

Jane Wilmot OBE, co-chair of the Disabled Residents Working Group for the Safer Cycle Pathway, said: “We’re delighted to be working together with H&F in trying to provide a positive experience for blind, visually impaired and Disabled residents who face barriers in using the Safer Cycle Pathway.”

Future plans

Once this interim scheme is completed, feedback from residents will complement the work underway from the Residents’ Cycling Commission, DRT and the DRWG – all of which will feed into the final design of the Safer Cycle Pathway.

This will ensure that the final Safer Cycle Pathway is a world-class piece of transport infrastructure working for all residents as we re-imagine Hammersmith town centre.

The permanent scheme features even more green areas, trees and benches to help make the Safer Cycle Pathway a world-class piece of transport infrastructure as we reimagine Hammersmith town centre.

We’ve also negotiated with TfL to fund a complementary scheme of improvements for a cycle highway along the A4 to make it ideal for faster and experienced commuting riders.

The improved cycle highway alongside the A4 will be a much better fit for those riders who simply want to get from A to B as quickly and safely as possible.

Climate emergency

“Both the climate emergency and Covid have forever altered the way people are travelling in London and we need to respond,” added Cllr Harcourt. “We need everyone to consider low or no-carbon ways to travel so we can hit our goal of net carbon zero by 2030.”

As a council, we’re adapting the way we run our services and the way we work, in line with our ambition to be the greenest borough in Britain.

Here are some of the steps we’ve taken to meet the climate challenge head-on: