The residents, businesses and neighbours of Hammersmith & Fulham, Ward 7 would like to thank the Council for its consideration for transport and environmental improvements in Sulgrave Road and the surrounding area, as expressed in the recent letter to residents from Annalise Johns (dated 1 March 2013)

The objective of this petition is to provide the council a collective view from those impacted by the improvements of the key issues faced and suggest some options the Council could implement to alleviate them.

This petition should be considered alongside any feedback provided by the signatories via the online survey (www.lbhf.gov.uk/improveyourneighbourhood) or other means 

The key issues of the local residents include:

1. Unsustainable levels of traffic congestion in Batoum Gardens, Sulgrave Road, Lena Gardens and Trussley Road and excessive speeding by driving in the same roads, which can be potentially dangerous to pedestrians
2. Unsightly and unsafe walkways on Trussley Road and the pathway linking Sulgrave Road and Wells Road

POINT ONE: TRAFFIC CONGESTION & EXCESSIVE SPEEDING

OBSERVATIONS

• There are periods of intense traffic Trussley Road, and Lena Gardens, Batoum Gardens and Sulgrave Road, particularly during rush hour, which is due to the heavy usage of the cut-through connecting Trussley Road with Sulgrave Road.
  
• Lena, Batoum and Sulgrave are barely wide enough to sustain two way traffic, resulting in frequent and heavy congestion on these roads as cars or vans try to pass each other. This is particularly acute at the turn-offs from Lena and Batoum to Shepherd’s Bush road
  
• These incidents of prolonged congestion have a significant negative impact on residents due to:

1. Disturbances due to antisocial behaviour ("road rage"), which often includes shouting, aggressive/racist verbal abuse and physical confrontation between drivers
   
2. Damage to parked vehicles, often belonging to residents
   
3. Delays for residents who need to travel
   
4. Greater pollution due to congestion 
5. Drivers often drive at excessive and unacceptable speed down these roads, often as they race to avoid meeting on-coming cars
6. These drivers pose a significant safety risk to the pedestrians of these roads, in particular to the children who may be playing in Loris gardens or entering/leaving Lena Gardens primary school

OPTIONS TO CONSIDER

We strongly urge the council to consider options that would improve the traffic flow in these roads by implementing a system that provides the greatest degree of road safety to all residents and visitors, particularly the many children i the area.  

We also strongly urge the council to consider improved speed reduction measures or controls. 

As a community we are prepared to contribute financially in the hiring a professional traffic consultant who can assess the situation and design a high quality transport solution that meets the needs of our residents.

POINT TWO: UNSIGHTLY AND UNSAFE WALKWAYS on Trussley Road and the pathway linking Sulgrave Road and Wells Road

OBSERVATIONS

• The pathways linking Sulgrave Road and Wells Road and Trussley road are frequently used by the residents to access the Goldhawk tube and other facilities / friends in the surrounding neighbourhood.
  
• In addition, these paths serve as a key access to a number of local merchants who often rely on customer reaching them by foot.
  
• In spite of this, these thoroughfares are poorly maintained due to poor lighting, “Fly tipping” (which tends not to be cleared up) and Loiterers / anti-social behaviour from small groups
  
• As a result, these thoroughfares are perceived as unsafe, particularly at night and when alone or with young children

OPTIONS TO CONSIDER

We would strongly urge the council to consider regenerate the thoroughfares with measures such as:

• Improve security with better lighting and/or CCTV
  
• Make it clean by removing the rubbish on a frequent basis
  
• Re-design the area with increased use of foliage and/or grass
• Remove the unsightly metal signs displayed along the Trussley Rd underpass

We thank the council for considering our views and look forward to hearing its findings and recommendations

Note for signatories

Please include the following in the "Notes / Comments" section

• address in “Location” 
• which points you are in support of
• any additional comments (please note, you can also use the official survey)

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