Firstly I must unreservedly apologise to the council regarding the inference I had not heard back from them. On review of my files I note this reply was received 27 March 2006. I have not had further correspondence from the Council since the below, but will scour the www.hounslow.gov.uk web site for further information.================================I am in receipt of your letter to Councillor Ruth Cadbury, sent in December 2005, regarding your suggestion on the removal of the short stretch of bus lane on Kew Bridge Road (between the junction with Green Dragon Lane and the traffic signals at the junction with Kew Bridge). I apologise for the delay in replying to you as I needed to take the opportunity to table and discuss your concerns at the next Traffic Management Liaison meeting, following the receipt of your letter, which was held on 16th February 2006.The bus lane in question was introduced in the year 2000 as part of the bus priority programme, principally because of the high usage of the road by buses - Kew Bridge Road is served by Routes 65, 237 and 267 with a combined one-way peak frequency of 19 buses per hour. The Consultants report on the design of the scheme indicated that the objective of the eastbound bus lane was to insulate buses against delays occurring at the Kew Bridge junction. These were exacerbated by vehicles rat-running between Green Dragon Lane and Kew Bridge Road, which force themselves into the main traffic stream.However, you state that with the new development in the area the traffic volumes have increased and the net result is that congestion arising at the Kew Bridge junction tails back along Kew Bridge Road and High Street Brentford and buses consequently get held in traffic further upstream of the start of the bus lane and do not benefit from the bus lane.The points that you have raised were discussed at the last Traffic Management Liaison meeting on 16th February and Transport for London’s Bus Priority Unit, who are responsible for the overall bus infrastructure, have acknowledged your concerns and have suggested that queue length surveys should be carried out to determine whether it would be feasible to remove the bus lane without losing the benefits of providing priority to buses up to the last bus stop before the Kew Bridge junction.Mr. Chris Calvi-Freeman (Head of Transport) has also concurred with your comments over the effect that queuing traffic has on buses along Kew Bridge Road. However, the net consensus at the meeting was that surveys should be carried out to quantify any disbenefits to buses arising from the removal of the short section of the bus lane. Arrangements will be made for the surveys to be carried out and I will inform you in due course of the findings.The other issue that you have raised about the volume of traffic using Green Dragon Lane and the potential impact of the Scottish Widows site was also raised during the discussions and bus operators have also emphasised the need to assess the operations of the junction during the conduct of the surveys. The assessment can then, at the same time, review the layout of the junction, the road markings and the lighting conditions.I attach a copy of the Agenda item relating to the above, tabled at the Traffic Management Liaison meeting and I trust that the foregoing will serve to assure you that your concerns have been acknowledge and will be investigated further.RegardsJay GopalTeam Leader – Traffic Section.
Stephen Browne ● 6798d