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Don't worry! I'm just playing!But the High Street from Kew Bridge to the Canal Bridge is a bit of a challenge!Even on a bus!🚦Just remembered Ealing and Windmill Roads too!

Jim Lawes ● 188d52 Comments

Its hugely frustrating for all road users and no end in sight for all the works.Its outrageous that the public are being treated like this and the authorities washing their hands of responsibility.

David Cook ● 131d

The constructions works from Ealing Road to Kew Bridge will mean much of Kew Bridge road and Brentford High st being ripped up in places yet again for the next 6 to 8 years.  That will include tearing up much of the new Cycle route as that now covers much of the underground cable, water drainage and gas offshoot ducting.The queues on Saturday were up to 40 mins from Ealing Road to Kew and bad again near Richmond. In both directions. Bus delays are massive with many buses now even curtailing in both directions and not just at Half Acre.Bus drivers will tell you how it is now compared to just a few years ago.They have become like.trams.  Unable to pass.There are now so few passing points that one bus or even a large vehicle can block an entire road.  Hammersmith Broadway can have just one delayed bus loading a lot of passengers and that 3 mins or so is enough to jam up Hammersmith Road, Fulham Place Road and Shepherds Bush Road and it takes 15 mins to recover. Except that just one delay causes other excessive build ups of passengers and the whole thing repeats, all day.Buses stuck behind off any other route cannot pull out and pass.  In fact passing points are now so minimal for that services have to be held for up to 7 mins at the few points between Hammersmith and Brentford that remain. So all journey times are significantly increased.TfL are fully aware of this.And their solution?  To put posters up on bus shelters advising passengers to consider walking or cycling instead.Adding to the further hazards of bus passengers, TfL have now been forced to put warning displays about CS9 when getting off of buses in the Chiswick and Brentford areas as so many are getting hit by Cyclists. They will not admit this publicly but insurance companies are not prepared to underwrite accidents.So if you get hit as a bus passenger alighting, the authority will no longer be held responsible.Beware.

Raymond Havelock ● 131d

Thanks for clearing that up. It does not deflect from the fact that many roads around the Borough require extensive repairs and even now the temporary road works towards Kew Bridge are going to cause traffic problems for many months to come.

David Cook ● 131d

Certainly not employed by LBH pf TfL or HH. Utilities are private companies and have rights with some restrictions to dig up roadshttps://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8500/CBP-8500.pdfHounslow Highways are responsible for monitoring what the utilities do and will restrict their activities and demand reinstatement where necessary.What is going on or planned is here: https://hounslowhighways.org/my-works/The work on BMR is due to be finished today, by Thames Water

Guy Lambert ● 132d

The Temporary lights in London Road by Pets at Home have now been removed.However the same company is now digging up Boston Manor road just after the Railway Bridge with more temporary lights! These incompetent companies surely are employed by LBH or is it a mixture of TFL and LBH/HH?Saturday working must be an urgent repair with the costs of this.

David Cook ● 133d

No, nothing to do with cycling. Incompetent utilities.

Guy Lambert ● 135d

I passed the Temporary lights again today and actually noticed they are three way lights and the Bus lane/cycle lane has been suspended. As Cllr Lambert rightly asserts there seems to be plenty of room for vehicles to pass one another. I dare say the reason for the traffic lights is for the safety of the few cyclists that use the Bus lane.I still think that these companies need more supervision from LBH to ensure better free flow of vehicles though.

David Cook ● 135d

Says one of the forum's biggest loudmouths!

Anne England ● 135d

I see Cllr Lamberts mouthpiece and apologist feels the need to pipe up again !

Paul Fisher ● 135d

I agree David. I cycled down to West Middlesex to look at another road works on Twickenham Road (which I believe is now finished) but going out there was a lorry parked blocking half of London road by the Field Lane junction with a man sitting in it and nothing happening on the ground. When I returned there was no lorry, no workmen and  all that was left was barriers taking a chunk of the road to protect a shallow hole on the side, and the traffic lights. Needless to say, I wrote to Hounslow Highways and the traffic team pointing out this was ridiculous. You could easily have taken buses past in both directions (at the same time) without any concerns about it being too narrow.

Guy Lambert ● 136d

I spoke too soon. We have more temporary Traffic lights near Pets at Home in the London road in Brentford. They were causing traffic chaos today with the lights completely out of sequence. No workmen around either to talk with to sort out the mess.Thats one of the problems none of these companies digging up the road seem to be accountable for the problems they cause. It was affecting every road user and public transport as well.

David Cook ● 136d

Oh, so do you mean that just before the LOCAL elections the CENTRAL government will release the funds?

Anne England ● 136d

"When will we see an improvement in our Borough? Does anyone know?"At a rough guess I would say just before the local elections

Paul Fisher ● 136d

The Traffic over the last couple of weeks has been quite acceptable hardly any jams or queues wherever I have driven. This is quite obviously down to the fact Schools are out and many people are not working due to the holidays.However I have noticed a massive increase in cracks,potholes,flooding and general wear and tear on the roads.This is probably down to the incessant amounts of rain we have experienced in the last month. I hear the Government are allocating over £200 million to fix the roads in London with money they have saved from the ill fated HS2 project. When will we see an improvement in our Borough? Does anyone know?

David Cook ● 136d

But it's the created congestion of recent times that is the problem.The M4 /A4 and A406 and the A208 have always been bad and actually far worse 30 years ago.Much was done ( ironically and initially by Ken Livingstone's administration ) to get things moving. In particular the Bus Plus scheme which made several local and dreadful bus routes a really viable alternative.Now most bus journey times particularly on the 65 and 267 are now up to three times longer than the Bus Plus improved journey times.Problem is all the congestion and pinch points and slowing of traffic on major roads has been created affects public transport badly. And seeing emergency vehicles, Ambulances in particular, daily stuck in traffic and unable to use direct routes that have been cut off is utterly reprehensible. As is the prohibiting of crews and front line mangers to raise complaints.Such is the tentacles of politics and public service careers being above all else.

Raymond Havelock ● 150d

No wonder the roads in the Borough are so congested,all of us living here have been shortchanged for years by LBH. The pollution levels must be the worst they have ever been locally and thats despite Sadiq Khannages ulez coming into effect.

David Cook ● 151d

Interesting stats in the Daily Fail but they about traffic volumes rather than gridlock/congestion. Hounslow (especially Brentford) has the multiple horrors of the A4/M4, A316, A30, North and South Circular all running through the borough. For similar reasons Hillingdon was second 1.9% below Hounslow, with Kingston also in the top 10 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12869049/Road-Britains-10-busiest-roads-revealed-Hounslow-Hillingdon-come-traffic-does-area-make-list.html

Guy Lambert ● 153d

I just read in the Daily Fail that the roads in Hounslow Borough are the most congested in the Country!I doubt very much a meeting at the Church will sort the major gridlock problems out. The last meeting I went to there, it was quite obvious LBH were not listening to the audience and this will be no different.But ah they can say they engaged with the public and told them the plans.

David Cook ● 153d

These meetings are usually at Brentford Free Church. Has there been a change?

Anne England ● 156d

Formal agenda starts at 7.30pm (but there is "marketplace stalls" event from 6.30 to 7.30 beforehand where ?council officers/organisations man tables to engage with whoever wants to chat).Jefferson Nwokeoma's update is timetabled on the agenda for 7:35 to 8:30pm.

Tim Henderson ● 157d

What time does this kick off?

Raymond Havelock ● 157d

I see the main agenda item for the next Brentford and Syon Area Forum on Monday (St. Pauls Church) is "Traffic issues and roadworks in and around BrentfordUpdate by Jefferson Nwokeoma, Assistant Director of Traffic, Transport & Parking and Sabeel Khan, Head of Highways, PFI & Ward Improvement."

Tim Henderson ● 157d

I drove up Windmill road today to and from Northfields no jams north or south bound crossing the A4 and I dare say its helped alleviate the Ealing road problems.

David Cook ● 158d

Delays on the Great West Road (westbound) caused by the sequence of🚦 changes at Ealing Rosd are now notorious.An added danger to pedestrians now is that drivers on this stretch of the GWR want to jump the queue.So the clever..but inconsiderate drivers dart into the slip road in front of the old Beechams building ...and by doing so leap some 150.meters.Trouble is that they cause danger to pedestrians getting off at that bus stop ...causing frightful shocks.A small barrier should be placed there ...before someone gets injured,

Jim Lawes ● 158d

Not my ward or responsibility. I agree the number of lights seem excessive and I believe it's all under review as the High St changes. I am responsible for Hounslow Highways but not for road design or rules.The one by Premier Inn is not new. Been there for years but temporarily closed due to road works

Guy Lambert ● 168d

Maybe I was being economical with the number, but unless my eyes deceive me, there are 2 in quick sucession either side of Tallow road and 2 between Goddards corner and the Beehive,So that is 4 plus the one in the middle of the Town centre. So too many in around 200-300 yards. I doubt wether LBH will remove any though. Good news the fence in the filter lane outside the Green School for boys in the Twickenham road was removed this week! I dont know whether Cllr Lambert had anything to do with that, but credit due to HH. Mind you they had only repaired a sunken manhole cover. At least they made a nice job of it!

David Cook ● 168d

There's a new pedrestrian set of lights being fitted now opposite the Premier Inn ..where there was a recent pedestrian accident.So one more!🚦!

Jim Lawes ● 168d

5? There's one outside Costcutter,one in the middle of the high st. and on outside Goddards.And the only zebra crossing is outside the Six Bells.Moving west there's one outside The Northumberland Arms and one by the entrance to Syon Park.Your point is still germane though,particularly as there are almost weeky roadworks in Brentford to contend with as well.

Keith Iddon ● 168d

That is interesting to hear that, I know some parts of Brentford are not covered by the ULEZ cameras. I only assumed it was a Police van as I drove past and I was driving under 20 mph. It was gone the next day. There are 5 yes 5 controlled Zebra crossings from Costcutter to the Bee hive. How can they be conducive to good traffic flow and thats not including the LBG Zebra crossing outside the 6 Bells. If LBH are serious about improving the traffic flow they could remove a couple of them and it wont affect the Pedestrian flow either.

David Cook ● 170d

I wonder David, was it  Police liveried camera van? There is a TfL ULEZ van that had been popping up all over Ealing for the last few weeks and they are only enforcing ULEZ and nothing else.

N V Brooks ● 170d

Shame it had to wait for a bad accident near the lights for anyone to get their finger out and remove those lights.I suppose it will be ok now,until the next time.

Keith Iddon ● 170d

The traffic up to Kew from Brentford this morning before 8am was as bad as ever. Thats mainly down to the many traffic lights on a short stretch of road and the construction staff on the Ballymore site stopping traffic to let their lorries and other vehicles in and out of their site.There were many cyclists on the road as well mostly ignoring the traffic regulations.Its a bit rich that last week Cllr Dunne and Bruce were patting themselves on their backsabout removing the temporary lights at the 6 Bells Pub and freeing up the traffic. I saw several cars q jumping,speeding,driving on the pavements all without fear of prosecution. Although last week I did spy a mobile Police van camera in Ealing Road and no doubt that will have caught some law breakers. The authorities need to do much more to alleviate the problems.

David Cook ● 170d

Word is that TfL and Highways have treated Cllr Lambert abysmally. And he has at least made a sustained effort.It appears that he gets very little robust support from Cllr Dunne and others and the borough Highways Officers are not interested is blotting their career prospects with the next level they aspire to.That really does need to be addressed and some a***s kicked.

Raymond Havelock ● 178d

Chaos this afternoon when the temporary cycleway lights were showing green both ways. Spent a pleasant few minutes chatting to a Met TSG officer when we were nose to nose waiting for the queues behind us to reverse. Meanwhile the workmen seemed content to do sod all to help clear the chaos.

N V Brooks ● 179d

At long last the temporary lights outside the 6 Bells are gone and traffic flowing ok when I drove through there twice today. I also reported a really bad pothole elsewhere in the Borough on fix my Street. Low and behold it was reported 2 months ago and with all the rain it has got a lot larger. Its on a bend and this makes it really dangerous for any road user especially the Motorcyclist or Cyclist. This is a point I made earlier about the time to fix these issues. Way to long and not good enough.

David Cook ● 180d

Dont worry in about 5/6 years all the temp traffic lights will be gone,then what will the council think of next??

Andrew Buckland ● 181d

Thanks David. The demarcation is difficult to determine as although Cllr. Lambert has "highways" Cllr. Dunne has "transport strategy". The former does at least make an attempt to engage but they both need to be far more proactive for the £70,000+ that they receive in 'allowances'.

N V Brooks ● 181d

I have to agree with Alison Robins excellent post and others who all make relevant points. There just does not seem to be any urgency in effecting and finishing the repairs. In the filter lane outside the Green School for boys, there is some temporary fencing in the road that has been causing chaos for weeks. So its not just Brentford that has the problems. But that small bit of fence drivers have to weave around before they can turn right into London road. I dare say HH have forgot about that!Actually Guy Lambert is the LBH Councillor responsible for the Highways not Katherine Dunne. Again he is failing miserably with his reponsibilities.

David Cook ● 181d

It's the fact that there are some in positions to do something about this mess that are revelling it it as it suits their political ideals. Not just elected either.

Raymond Havelock ● 182d

And the only zebra crossing in Brentford,quite near where Thursday's accident happened,has been unusable for many weeks.It is cordoned off,although no works are going on there and haven't been for some time.How many more accidents is it going to take before the whole fiasco is sorted?

Keith Iddon ● 182d

Meanwhile, Councillor Dunne draws her £37,000 allowance each year and stays absolutely silent. Something to recall at the next election

N V Brooks ● 182d

With all the current chaos shouldn't there be an emergency meeting of the Brentford Area Forum ... all Labour Party members I believe ...except one.

Jim Lawes ● 182d

Not forgetting the absence of pedestrian signals at the Commerce Road junction with the High Street ... outside the fish & chip shop and Northumberland Arms.Chaos reigns indeed.

Jim Lawes ● 182d

The problem with all these lights and road closures and roadworks is that they are making things unpleasant and dangerous for everyone - those on foot, those on 2 wheels and those on 4 wheels.I've seen some pretty reckless overtakes on the South Ealing Road recently between MacD's and the roundabout.  Last night the queue stretched from MacD's to the roundabout.  You get those on 2 wheels weaving in and out of the crawling traffic - never a good idea on a dark, damp night. I saw motorcyclists using the pavement. I saw cars storming past the queue on the offside to access the right turns.  And it must be horrible for the people living on that stretch of road.People (not just car drivers) are getting frustrated by it all and are taking risks. I can't (not publicly) condone it but I understand it and I bet the accidents last night wouldn't have happened but for all this nonsense.  North of the A4 the offshoots of Junction Road are getting clogged up with people trying to get from Windmill Road to the A4 and back again.  The roads are only wide enough for one vehicle and so there are confrontations developing between vehicles travelling in opposite directions.It's too much and it's been going on for too long.  It's all badly organised and badly managed and the effects of it are detrimental to everyone living in or trying to get through the area.

Alison Robins ● 182d

The traffic in and around Brentford this week is the worse it has ever been with two serious accidents gumming up the Town centre on Thursday and Friday evenings. Also the road being flooded several times outside Augustus Close. We have 3 lots of Temporary lights on the London road from the Holiday inn Bridge to Kew Bridge with the Temporary lights outside the 6 Bells being the most pointless of them. I dare say these lights have had something to do with the accidents. This is all on Hounslow Highways watch.Its a total disgrace and farce.

David Cook ● 182d

8pm on Sunday ,  The traffic signal Ealing Bound on the Ealing Rd side was Green for just 4 seconds. I was oon a 65 and the queue was back to New Road. I counted 7 - 4 second changes and 3 - 9 second changes before we got through.It is completely insane.

Raymond Havelock ● 184d

The long queues of traffic on the Great West Road continue.Buses sometimes avoid easing over to a Bus Stop to avoid losing their place in the traffic queue.The west bound traffic gets badly held up by the Ealing Road traffic  light. They are GREEN just for 30 seconds ...then RED for 90 seconds.

Jim Lawes ● 185d

Maybe you should talk to Rhys Williams who is on record of saying he is proud of the planning Committee’s achievements in Brentford. I doubt very much King Charles would accept an invite to the Grand opening and he would be aghast of what’s happened in the Town Centre!

David Cook ● 186d

The thought of having to encounter what has become of the town of my mother's and grandmother's birth, every day is horrible to contemplate

N V Brooks ● 187d

Yes, thankfully you only pass through once a week.

Anne England ● 187d

Thankfully, I now only have to pass through Brentford once oer week early (c.06:30) on Tuesdays en route to somewhere with a far more enlightened transport policy.

N V Brooks ● 187d

Nice heading, Jim! I used to come to Brentford several times  a month, to the Waterman's. Now? Never!

Susan Kelly ● 188d