Boris Johnson

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Improvements proposed for Hammersmith gyratory

gyratoryTransport for London is proposing a new road layout around Hammersmith Broadway to improve cyclist safety.

The transformation of Hammersmith gyratory would include:

  • A segregated two-way cycle track on the north side of Hammersmith gyratory
  • Cyclist-specific signals at junctions to separate cyclists and motorised vehicles
  • An increase of cycle parking
  • Pedestrian countdown signals at the crossings of King Street, Beadon Road, Shepherd’s Bush Road, Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith Road and Butterwick
  • Widened sections of footway on King Street to provide more space for pedestrians
  • A new bus lane on Beadon Road between Glenthorne Road and Hammersmith Broadway to improve bus reliability

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

“We want to completely overhaul this stretch of road and make some serious improvements for pedestrians, bus users and cyclists. Our proposals would greatly improve the area for everyone using it and I hope we’ll see a positive response to our consultation.”

The improvement work is part of TfL’s £4bn Road Modernisation Plan to radically transform the way the Capital’s roads and public spaces are used. Work on the improvements at Hammersmith, subject to consultation, could begin in 2017. It is separate to a long term aim of burying the Hammersmith flyover. Members of the public can respond to the Hammersmith gyratory consultation, which closes on Tuesday 15 March, here.

TfL keeps London’s traffic moving through a variety of methods. Technology, such as Split Cycle Offset Optimisation Technique (SCOOT) – proven to reduce delays by up to 12 per cent and being expanded across London, is used. Up-to-the-minute traffic information is provided via digital road signs, TfL’s traffic status page and TfL’s Twitter feeds to better manage the network. TfL also has the ability to control temporary traffic lights from its central traffic control centre, to help further ease traffic and minimise disruption.

Pedestrian Countdown shows exactly how much time is left to cross the road, meaning pedestrians are less likely to hesitate or stop in the middle of the road. An off-street trial of the technology demonstrated that more than 85 per cent of pedestrians felt safer and more confident when crossing the road with countdown

Cyclist journeys through the area will be improved by up to a minute.

The sessions will take place at St Paul’s Church, Hammersmith, Queen Caroline Street, London, W6 9PJ on:
•Thursday 18 February 15:00-19:00
•Wednesday 24 February 9.00-12.00
•Saturday 5 March 09:00-12:00

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“We support Uber” H&F Conservative councillors tell Boris

Uber_logo_thumb800Dear Boris

In Hammersmith & Fulham we are enormously proud of your achievements as Mayor of London.  You have made significant changes to benefit our residents in reducing crime, reducing your share of council tax, modernising the District Line, scrapping the western extension of the Congestion Charge, bringing ‘Boris Bikes’ west and planting new street trees.  We could go on!

However, similar to the seven Conservative Councillors from Westminster who wrote to you earlier in the week, we are very concerned at Transport for London’s proposals around new regulation that will particularly affect Uber.  A significant number of our residents use Uber as a convenient, competitively priced and forward looking service that is setting the pace in the taxi market.  To bring in rules that prevent residents from seeing where nearby taxis are located and have to wait longer than sometimes is necessary to get their cab (especially late at night) would achieve nothing other than inconvenience for thousands of Londoners and visitors who value such a service.

We believe it is possible for the black cab trade and firms like Uber to co-exist in a competitive market place and respectfully suggest the answer may lie more with deregulation of black cabs than new regulation on others.

Please review these proposals and let competition and the free market settle this matter, not state interference.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Greg Smith

Cllr Mike Adam

Cllr Nick Botterill

Cllr Andrew Brown

Cllr Joe Carlebach

Cllr Charlie Dewhirst

Cllr Belinda Donovan

Cllr Caroline ffiske

Cllr Marcus Ginn

Cllr Steve Hamilton

Cllr Lucy Ivimy

Cllr Alex Karmel

Cllr Robert Largan

Cllr Jane Law

Cllr Viya Nsumbu

Cllr Harry Phibbs

All Councillors in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham Town Hall, King Street, London W6 9JU

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Boris boosts Hammersmith and Fulham with “pocket park” projects

Cathnor Park.jpg.270x270_q95_crop--50,-50_upscaleA green scheme launched by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson to create 100 new pocket parks in the capital has been so successful there are plans to roll it out across the country.

The Mayor has  confirmed he has delivered his manifesto pledge to create 100 rejuvenated spaces as part of his pocket parks programme in 26 London boroughs.

Projects that have been backed in our borough include:

  • Support the creation of a sustainable drainage project on the pedestrianised Melina Road (on the boundary of Cathnor Park) and to make improvements to play and planting within the wider park.
  • White City – Active Plaza. In partnership with Groundwork London a capital improvement project that will provide a new community area with recreation facilities for the estate and will contribute to social interaction among residents and increased opportunities for physical activities.
  • bishopspark Bishop’s Park Nature Area. The ‘moat garden’ that was given a fantastic makeover by replacing missing benches and cleaning/re-staining those that remained
  • The Lancaster Court Pocket Park in partnership with the Lancaster Court Tenants’ and Residents’ Association has provided a new landscaped community area for the estate, with raised beds for growing food.

From a rain garden in Vauxhall to a dinosaur playground in Hornsey and edible gardens along a south London bus route, more than 25 hectares of community land across the capital have been converted into new enhanced green areas, thanks to £2million of funding from the Mayor. This was match-funded from the Boroughs, as well as grants from businesses and trusts.

The programme to transform underused urban spaces across the city into mini oases for Londoners to enjoy has been a roaring success and proposals to develop it nationwide are being considered by the government.

lancastercourtThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

“From what started as a green shoot in 2012, dozens of glorious spaces have sprouted up across almost every corner of the capital, offering an oasis of calm from the hustle and bustle of city life.

“They may have been pocket-sized pieces of previously forgotten land, but they pack a real punch in what they now offer local people, thousands of whom have given up their time to make the capital greener and more resilient. It really underlines London’s status as one of the greenest world cities.”

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Boris visits Marcus Garvey Park

borismarcusoneThe Mayor of London Boris Johnson is rolling up his sleeves and grabbing a paint brush to help some of the thousands of volunteers tidy up neglected parts of the city in this summer’s biggest ever Capital Clean-up.

Up to mid-September, almost 3,000 volunteers will be cleaning up canals, creating food-growing spaces, painting murals in neglected areas, planting new gardens and cleaning up high streets, squares and parks.

More community groups than ever before have got involved this summer, with 76 organisations across 29 boroughs awarded small grants and kits from a £60,000 pot of funding.

borismarcustwoThe Mayor today visited the Marcus Garvey community group in Hammersmith, who are using their funding to revamp a communal park blighted by graffiti and anti-social behaviour, and creating a colourful wall mural to make the area more appealing for local people.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

“This summer’s Capital Clean-up truly is utilising the good will of thousands of volunteers hell bent on doing their bit to clean-up our city.

“This scheme makes a real difference in transforming and re-energising neglected local areas to create a better, cleaner environment for the millions of people that live and visit London.”

borismarcusthreeCapital Clean-up projects this summer include:

  • Surbiton Wildlife Group cleaning up and revamping a neglected garden which had fallen into serious decline and had become an eyesore.
  • Firs Farm Park in Enfield had become a target for fly-tippers and the project is transforming underused green space and creating an accessible nature trail.
  • Valence House in Barking is revitalising a disused garden area into a new composting area and edible forest garden.

Sean Adamson, chairman of the Friends of Marcus Garvey Park community group, said:

“Because of anti-social behaviour and rubbish dumping, we have been working on a project to revitalise Marcus Garvey Park and bring it back into community use.

“We’re now cleaning up the park and as it’s in between two schools, we have painted a mural on the wall to make it a nice focal point, making it a much nicer, safer, environment for everyone, especially young people, to enjoy.”

joeboris1Working in partnership with McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd, this year’s clean-up is the biggest yet, helping to make London an even better place to live, work and invest.

Howard Gray, Head of Sustainability at McDonald’s UK, said:

“We support Capital Clean-up because we understand the importance of having clean and welcoming local areas in which to live and work. Last joeboris2year hundreds of our staff across London organised or supported over 50 events to help improve their communities. We are proud that through this partnership we are enabling even more Londoners to volunteer and help revitalise dozens of local areas across the capital.”

Since City Hall took over the campaign in 2011, more than 10,000 volunteers have taken part in over 1,000 clean-ups of disused and unloved parts of the city. Last year’s clean-up saw volunteers collect almost 3,000 bags of rubbish, transforming an area the size of 104 football pitches.

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We need cleaner air in Hammersmith and Fulham

borisbikesPublic Health England estimates that 72 people a year in Hammersmith and Fulham die as a result of air pollution. They put the “associated life-years lost” at 1,070. That compares to two of us a year who die in road accidents. Also two of us a year being murdered.

Among the major causes of death in our borough are Cerebrovascular diseases (Male: 43.5, Female: 20.4 death rate per 100,000),  Chronic lower respiratory diseases (Male: 44.4, Female: 26.2) and  Ishaemic heart diseases (Male: 90.6, Female: 37.3).  Air pollution is a significant contributor to these. But it is insidious – it is less dramatic than being stabbed or knocked down by a car. One of the reasons I oppose road humps is the evidence that they increase pollution.

At present our monitoring of air quality appears deficient compared to other boroughs.

The good news is that since Boris Johnson became the Mayor of London the air in the capital has become cleaner. Planting trees and encouraging cycling have both helped.

Another initiative is dust suppressant spray.

The Mayor’s Air Quality Fund is providing £100,000 to pay for this in Scrubs Lane. Research has indicated that this treatment provides a significant reduction in PM10 – the dust which we inhale into our respiratory tracts and which impedes our lung capacity. Depending on the frequency of respraying and the type of site chosen air pollution is reduced by something between a quarter and a half.

Boris Johnson has issued planning guidance encouraging councils to include a requirement for this spraying in return for granting consent to construction projects.

I have asked Elizabeth Fonseca, the Environmental Quality Manager at Hammersmith and Fulham Council if this guidance will be followed.

She replied:

“We are in the process of reviewing this recently issued Supplementary Planning Guidance so that we may further develop our own procedures for addressing dust issues via the planning process.  However, I can confirm that if dust suppressant application is seen to be an appropriate mitigation measure, we would expect to agree details at the application stage else we would recommend a condition requiring its use at a development site by the developer; this is our current protocol where other dust abatement measures are deemed necessary.  We would not seek funding to allow us to undertake this work as it would be an additional burden on services which can and should be addressed by the developer.

“In addition to this, we also review Demolition Notices under the Building Act 1984 and place similar conditions on Counter Notices where we have similar concerns regarding demolition works.”

I will pursue this. The cost is not that great – it involves retofitting a salt gritter which costs around £70,000 a time. It seems to me it would be worthwhile to have regular spraying of streets in the borough – even where major works are not taking place.