An experimental traffic reduction scheme in south Fulham, London to tackle rat running by out-of-borough drivers will be launched this month.
The scheme will use smart camera technology and go live on Monday 20 July. It aims to reduce traffic across south Fulham. Signage and cameras are currently being installed.
The new scheme follows numerous meetings between residents and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF), including a working party, to address the impact of the experimental closure of Harwood Terrace as well as long-standing local traffic issues.
A time-limited experiment was intended to run from November 2019 to April 2020 but was extended because of Covid-19. LBHF said it couldn’t work at pace to introduce the new scheme based on the findings of the experiment.
LBHF said a key finding of the experiment is that while the temporary closure of Harwood Terrace ended rat running in the road, it caused extensive traffic delays in surrounding streets, including to buses. It was also learned that the majority of traffic came from outside the borough.
The experimental scheme aims to reduce traffic significantly by changing the behaviour of drivers from outside the borough. It will use smart camera technology to read and recognise licence plates at strategically positioned control points. Harwood Terrace will re-open and non-residents who rat run through this or other south Fulham streets will be subject to fines.
According to LBHF, the scheme will reduce traffic to below what it was before the experimental closure of Harwood Terrace. “Buses on Bagleys Lane will be able to run better than ever. Noise, air pollution and carbon emissions should decrease in keeping with the council’s climate emergency strategy,” LBHF said in a statement.
Residents will be able to drive around the area as now. Smart cameras will recognise vehicle number plates so that they and other permitted vehicles can go freely through control points. Non-residents will still be able to access any road in the area but not by rat running through Harwood Terrace and other streets.
Non-residents will incur a penalty if they:
- Cut into residential streets east of Wandsworth Bridge Road and then exit through Bagleys Lane junction to go through Harwood Terrace;
- Cut through Stephendale Road, Hazlebury Road or Broughton Road to bypass queues and re-join Wandsworth Bridge Road.
LBHF said it will monitor traffic across the area and gather residents’ views during the new scheme – and make any adjustments needed.
