Apparently this is a letter sent by the local councillor Cllr. Richard Warren and published on an nextdoor post.I hope they do not mind me sharing, however this is impacting many boroughs. I would suggest writing to our MP as well.It sounds like the local Richmond councillors are getting it in the neck for what is a TFL road and works.Anyway the good news is that traffic may ease by December, I hope that is 2023!I am writing on behalf of all three ward councillors. I hope you will forgive the generic email but we have received a considerable number of emails from residents and want to update everyone as quickly as possible about our meeting with Transport for London (TfL) and this is the fastest way. As you know, TfL is carrying out changes to its roundabout on the A316 and its bridge over the railway. This morning we met with TfL, Richmond Council transport officers and the Chair of the council's Transport Committee, Cllr. Alex Ehmann.We made it clear to TfL just how much residents are having to put up with and that we will not tolerate more of the same over the next few months. We shared residents' and our own observations about the lack of workers on site, the driver accidents and altercations, the slowness of the pedestrian light changes, the pollution caused by engine idling, the lack of access for emergency vehicles, the difficulties for residents to drive out of car parking spaces and to get out of their car with a baby and the slowness of the bus services.We walked TfL officers round the area and showed them how bad it is. This included taking them to Sandycombe Road, Manor Road, Manor Grove, Raleigh Road, Windham Road, Braddon Road and Lower Mortlake Road, which are particularly badly affected. At the end of the meeting, TfL agreed to the following actions:Place additional signage further out to the M3, warning drivers to avoid the A316 in the Richmond area.Investigate longer hours of working at the site, ideally 24-hours-a-day, to finish the job sooner.Increase TfL communications with transport users and the media to discourage use of the A316.Investigate opening an additional lane on the A316 by moving equipment on a closed off section.Assist the Council in erecting no-engine idling signs and enforcement on affected roads.Ban HGVs from going down Manor Grove.Create a yellow box junction outside Richmond Fire Station.Improve the pedestrian crossing timings at Manor Circus, so pedestrians don't need to wait so long.Ensure there is a Christmas moratorium on works to ensure people can travel more freely at that time. TfL assured us that traffic disruption will ease considerably when this first phase of the works are completed in December. This ought to allow buses to run to schedule too. We shall have a follow-up meeting with TfL next week. Just to reiterate that the roundabout works are the responsibility of TfL and not the Council. We can lobby TfL, but ultimately they are accountable to the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, not to us. I hope the above provides some reassurance that we take this issue seriously. We expect TfL to smarten up their act without delay. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further assistance on this matter. I shall be away for ten days from this evening, but my colleague Cllr Richard Pyne will be responding to emails during that time. Cllr Nancy Baldwin will also be available later next week. We shall keep you updated. Best regards,Cllr. Richard WarrenLiberal Democrat Councillor for North Richmond WardChair of the Policy and Performance Review Board
Ed Robinson ● 599d