The enforced closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motorised traffic
has seen an overall reduction of car journeys in West London. Some
traffic has been displaced from Hammersmith and Barnes to Fulham,
Putney, Chiswick and Mortlake; but much has 'evaporated'.
Reopening the bridge to cars would therefore be a) detrimental to
public health; b) totally incompatible with LBHF's declaration of a
climate emergency and its commitment to being a 'net zero carbon'
borough by 2030; and c) destructive to the bridge - whose Victorian
timber-and-iron structure is fundamentally not designed for
constant motorised traffic - making future closures and expensive
repairs inevitable.
Reducing car usage and increasing active travel (walking, cycling)
to help create a cleaner, healthier London is now government and
council policy: Hammersmith Bridge - whether it is fully repaired
or not - can show the way.
N.B. 'Car free' does not mean closing the bridge to emergency
vehicles or public transport (with disabled access).
This ePetition ran from 25/07/2020 to 23/10/2020 and has now finished.
107 people signed this ePetition.
Dear Mr. Macdonaldbrownf-Brown,
Thank you for the petition to the Council in respect to Hammersmith Bridge. I am writing to you as the lead petitioner.
The Council recognises the severe community disruption resulting
from the closure of the bridge and is seeking a full refurbishment
of Hammersmith Bridge.
Hammersmith Bridge was discussed at the Council’s Community
Safety and Environment Policy and Accountability Committee on
Wednesday 16 September 2020. Details of this are available on the
Council’s web site - please see the following link:
http://democracy.lbhf.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspxCId=486&MId=7022&Ver=4
The minutes of this meeting note that the Committee was addressed by Councillor Cowan (The Leader of the Council). The minutes state that “The Leader provided details of the discussions that were had at the taskforce meeting and noted that everyone involved in the taskforce was keen to open a safe fully functioning bridge to pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles as soon as possible”.
An update on the Bridge was given at this Committee on 11 November.
I hope that this is a useful response to the petition.