Cars could be banned on a major London bridge when it finally reopens on a proposal from a climate organization to introduce ‘driverless pods’.
The plans, proposed by the climate organization Possible, include the use of automated shuttles across Hammersmith Bridge as part of a ‘double deck’ solution for the structure under repair.
The plans would delay or cancel the reintroduction of vehicular traffic on the bridge, which has not been able to use it for repairs since its closure in April 2019.
But Hammersmith and Fulham City Council has said it intends to reopen the bridge to cars, buses and trucks as soon as possible.
Possible co-director Leo Murray said the number of road users in South West London had ‘dropped’ since the bridge was closed to traffic.
The plans, proposed by the climate organization Possible, include the use of automated shuttles across Hammersmith Bridge as part of a ‘double deck’ solution for the structure being repaired
But Hammersmith and Fulham City Council have said it intends to reopen the bridge to cars, buses and lorries as ‘soon as possible’
The bridge will have a ‘lower deck’ for cyclists and pedestrians and an ‘upper deck’ for cars until the original structure is restored.
He told MyLondon: ‘In the four years since excessive car traffic broke Hammersmith Bridge and it was forced to close cars, vehicle counts show that South West London traffic has fallen.
“Even in key places where some local people think things have gotten worse. Elementary school kids in Barnes can’t even remember cars going over the bridge.’
In a statement, the municipality said: “Our experts are now working nights and weekends to complete the necessary stabilization works as quickly as possible.
“The next critical phase of our work is to replace the bridge’s corroded and seized bearings with new rubber bearings.
“This will be the last part of the stabilization works, which are expected to be completed this summer.
“As soon as the stabilization work is completed, we will resurface the bridge and reopen it fully to pedestrians and cyclists.”
The bridge will have a ‘lower deck’ for cyclists and pedestrians and an ‘upper deck’ for cars until the original structure is restored
The closure of the bridge caused traffic chaos in South West London and major disruption to young students who used to use the bridge to get to and from school.
In 2020, the parents of pupils at the £39,000 a year St Paul’s school who were fed up, used small boats to cross the River Thames due to the bridge’s closure.
The parents secretly drop off in boats nicknamed ‘tin-fish’ – usually used to coach oarsmen – to cross the Thames.
The problem got so bad that the river community emailed the parents to tell them that the Port of London Authority was looking into one of the crossings.
It considered the issue so serious that it warned it would take enforcement action if anyone was caught red-handed.
An insider from the water sports community told MailOnline at the time: ‘These are the little coaching boats that usually guide rowers up the river. They are small metal things with an outboard motor on the back, so they are quite good.
‘As enterprising as it is for parents, such a journey naturally entails dangers.
“Everyone is annoyed that the bridge is closed, but we don’t think this is worth the risk.”
In 2020, fed up parents of pupils at the £39,000-a-year St Paul’s school used small boats to cross the River Thames due to the bridge’s closure
The parents secretly drop off in boats nicknamed ‘tin-fish’ – usually used to coach oarsmen – to cross the Thames
Another blow to motorists: councils in the UK and London were accused of waging war on cars by removing thousands of parking spaces and replacing them with street furniture, bike sheds and flower beds.
As part of a plan to combat climate change, South London’s Lambeth plans to convert 25 per cent of its roadside parking spaces into ‘community enhancing’ functions.
At the same time, the council plans to do away with free parking and double the cost of parking permits, increasing their revenue from £6m to £12m.
At parklets, sometimes described as an ‘eyesore’ and ‘a waste of taxpayers’ money’, stretches of sidewalk and parking have been replaced by seating areas and flowerbeds.
In Lambeth, the council has justified the policy because the number of parking spaces does not reflect ‘fair or efficient use of space’.
The Labour-led borough has a population of 330,000 and 58 per cent do not own a car, yet 94 per cent of the curb in Lambeth is reserved for car parking.
The ambitious climate action plan aims for at least 85 percent of journeys in Lambeth to be made by people walking, cycling or using public transport by 2030.
Officials plan to remove free parking spaces in the neighborhood in the near future and consult residents about controlled parking zones.
According to the municipality’s new plans, traffic in the municipality should be reduced by 27 percent by 2030.
To help achieve this, they also want all Lambeth residents to live within 50 yards of a free bike shed.
A small park in Hammersmith, London, with benches and a bicycle rack
Drivers in the capital have also been hit by Sadiq Khan’s £33m Low Traffic Neighborhood scheme, which has implemented cycle lane segregation and banned turns at several intersections.
Haringey Council has been accused of using motorists as ‘cash cows’ during the cost of living crisis by bringing in low-traffic neighbourhoods.
Drivers in the St Ann’s area of north London were fined more than 32,000 between August and November after being caught by cameras driving on seven prohibited roads.
Hackney Council plans to ban most vehicles from 75 per cent of its roads as it expands its network of low-traffic neighbourhoods.
It approved plans to introduce six more of the controversial schemes over the next three years.
The East London borough already has the highest number of LTNs in the capital with 19 and half of the roads restricted by traffic filters.
A young cyclist passes the barriers in a car-restricted neighbourhood
And in 2021, a controversial London cycle path blocked three emergency vehicles in just 24 hours.
A blue-lit fire engine was stopped, the driver of a police car had to make a U-turn and an ambulance had to cut through traffic after congestion on Chiswick High Road in west London.
Video taken from a flat overlooking the busy road with cycle route 9 shows emergency services struggling to get past slow-moving cars and buses in three separate incidents.
Meanwhile, the two-lane bike path was empty, and only one or two cyclists trickled past in each of the three clips.
The first clip, dated March 25, 2021 and timestamped at 2:48 p.m., showed a fire engine trying to run through traffic.
It was discontinued when motorists were unable to move their cars out of the way due to black and white bollards marking the bike path.
A blue-lit fire truck was stopped (pictured), the driver of a police car had to make a U-turn and an ambulance had to cut through traffic after congestion on West London’s Chiswick High Road
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