Wandsworth Council is about to make changes to the road layout on Putney Bridge to remove a traffic bottleneck, improve bus reliability times and improve safety for cyclists.

At the council’s recent Cabinet meeting (4 March), it was decided that the CAN be made permanent.

The council published the following on 7 March.
We have worked with Uber, and other ride-hailing apps, for over three years on a range of measures to ensure residents in the Clean Air Neighbourhood are picked up and dropped off at their homes.

Essential repairs to Wandsworth Bridge which are needed to safeguard the long-term future of this vital river crossing mean it will close to vehicle traffic on Monday, 24 July 2023 for approximately 10 weeks.

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council have commissioned Foster + Partners and COWI to develop their pioneering plans to reopen Hammersmith Bridge to motor vehicles by installing a temporary double-decker truss within the existing Hammersmith Bridge structure.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council are ending the club’s funding for teenagers. It will no longer receive any financial support from the council for their youth provision for 11 to 19 year-olds. This would affect 100 - 150 young people who attend the senior youth club sessions each week.

Non-Hammersmith and Fulham drivers who pass through the cameras in the side streets off Wandsworth Bridge Road and who do not have exemptions will now be fined.

It comes as the two-month warning period for out-of-borough drivers cutting through South Fulham’s streets in our Clean Air Neighbourhood trial ended on Tuesday 31 January.

The new South Fulham traffic camera scheme appears to have created further congestion on Wandsworth Bridge Road and on the side streets to the west side. Cabinet has now approved a new scheme in the west and 10 more LTNs across the whole borough. In doing so, we feel it is not conducting a proper, democratic consultation.

The Post Office in the Co-op at 254 North End Road is a much-loved and much-used local amenity.

The Post Office has been advised by Co-op, which operates the Post Office in Fulham, to leave. The notice period expires in September 2023.

Further to the implementation of the project to the east of Wandsworth Bridge Road, roads to the west will have new cameras in operation from December 1st.

Work on the Hammersmith Bridge Restoration Project will start on-site later this month following the extensive safety investigations carried out by world-leading specialist bridge engineers working for Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

The South Fulham Traffic, Congestion and Pollution Reduction Scheme (TCPR) was launched in July 2020. Since the TCPR trial scheme began, traffic has reduced by 75% in the streets to the east of Wandsworth Bridge Road (WBR) and by 12% on Wandsworth Bridge Road according to the Hammersmith and Fulham Council.

It goes on to say: ‘The TCPR has enabled residents to take control of local streets which had become flooded with traffic - 90% of which was made up of rat-running, out-of-borough motorists largely from Surrey, Hampshire and the A3 corridor.

The decades-old and seemingly unmanageable traffic problem in South Fulham has been made worse in recent years by increased use of satnav systems directing arterial road traffic to cut through narrow residential streets.

The TCPR, which was developed by the council working with residents, uses the latest Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology to end this problem. It allows H&F residents who's vehicles are registered to and H&F address, as well as visitors and trades people with day permits, to access all areas freely.’

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) came into force on 8 April 2019 in the existing congestion charge zone in central London. It will be introduced in Fulham on 25 October 2021 when the present area will be expanded. This is therefore a critical date for Fulham car owners. The aim is to clean up the city’s filthy air and improve the health of Londoners.

Hammersmith & Fulham Leader Cllr Stephen Cowan re-opened Hammersmith Bridge on Saturday 17 July to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.

The decision followed a series of comprehensive safety investigations into the bridge and the successful introduction of an innovative temperature control system that helps prevent cracking in the 19th century cast iron pedestals.

June 2021. Legal e-scooter trials have started in Fulham. This trial scheme will be the only way to legally ride an e-scooter on public roads or in other public places. New e-parking bays are being installed alongside the electric vehicle charging bays as well as purpose built ‘corrals’, clearly marked areas, to house the e-scooters.

September 2021 - plans for the ferry currently in abeyance as the bridge is open to pedestrians.

April 2021. The temporary ferry service was supposed to start on 22 September. TfL awarded the contract to Uber Boat Thames Clippers to run the ferry service taking pedestrians and cyclists over the Thames while Hammersmith Bridge undergoes repair.

November 2020. The Double-decker Solution
Hammersmith and Fulham Council proposed a temporary double-decker solution that would enable pedestrians and traffic to continue to use the bridge while the restoration work took place below. Details can be seen here.

Taskforce Engineers’ Reports
The Taskforce’s technical experts reported the damage may not be as serious as thought but no reopening for pedestrians and cyclists can be considered until further inspections are carried out. Click here for the Engineers’ Reports.

Government Taskforce set up

The Department of Transport (DfT) eventually took over the project and the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce, chaired by Baroness Vere, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Department of Transport, first met on 16 September 2020. 

December 2020. Stabilisation work starts to allow pedestrians to cross by end 2021.

August 2020. Hammersmith Bridge closed to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic following closure to traffic in April 2019. Prior to its full closure 16,000 people crossed the river on foot or bike every day, in addition to the 20,000 vehicles.

The current Hammersmith Bridge was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette and was opened by the Prince of Wales on 11 June 1887. The bridge has long suffered structural problems and has been closed on several occasions due to the weight and volume of road traffic which it was not designed to support. The IRA made various attempts to blow it up.

A local group, the Wandsworth Bridge Road Residents and Business Association (WBRA) has been set up following the enormous increase in traffic and congestion in the area to give voice on local issues that affect the lives, well-being and businesses of those living and working in the area.