Navigating Putney Bridge & Putney on a cycle is indeed an Odyssey

A list of hilariously bad ideas from the new admin at Wandsworth Council. Destined to end in tragedy (pedestrians and cyclists endangered), farce (money down the drain, gridlock continues), and dismay (as people realise just how much worse street conditions will get if motoring is a encouraged).

#TellingItLikeItIs 🙏

We tolerate school runs rife with SUVs across London & in areas with private schools, residents & politicians often attack active car reducing LTN schemes because 'how will parents get kids to school?!' All while SUV drivers who kill kids go unpunished & private schools fail to tackle their parents.

According to @fleuranderson.bsky.social Putney is awash with congestion because Hammersmith Bridge closed to cars. Fleur refuses to acknowledge motor traffic is down across entire area incl Putney & all nearby bridges. I wonder what she & other Labour politicians make of stuff like this...

9/ ... in conclusion, a lot of the motorised traffic around Wandsworth, and over Putney, Wandsworth, Albert (when open) and Chelsea bridges into RBKC and H&F, is parents driving their beloved Tarquins and Tabathas to their private schools. Making Putney High Street more dangerous won't fix that.

8/ ... Wandsworth Council hasn't surveyed kids as to how they attended state schools since 2015 (it used to be annually), but only 22% of kids got to school by car then. democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/documents/s3...

TfL has commissioned some analysis re over-sized vehicles, including safety, will be interesting to see the conclusions later this year. (Commissioners report to TfL Board 8/7/26, agenda = board.tfl.gov.uk/ieListDocume...)

I often wonder what happens to the driver of one of these things in the right. When one of these things on the left collides with it at speed

The July'26 questions to Mayor of London are up (PDF: www.london.gov.uk/about-us/lon... ) #LibDem assembly member Hina Bokhari (and Merton borough cllr), asks the Mayor about GLA funds to reopen Albert Bridge, an RBKC asset - one of the richest boroughs in the country

"and of course increasing traffic demand across the area" Surely time for TfL to get a grip and ensure the borough acts in accordance with the Mayor's Transport Strategy and its legal duties?

Feeling the heat? So is our wildlife! Water and shade can be a lifeline to the birds, bees, bugs & other critters that share our spaces. Tell a friend to tell a friend, we're helping wildlife beat the heat 👇

Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell told the report launch that City Hall and TfL could still be doing more to tackle the "elephant in the room" - traffic congestion. "The urgency to reduce the number of cars in London couldn't be clearer". www.mylondon.news/news/transpo...

Once again, for those in the back.

The problem is people making local journeys pointlessly by car. I rarely drive through that junction (e.g. if I am taking the cats to the vet - necessary to reduce distress - or on a long-distance drive out of London - and frankly the A3 is better!), but there are always so many 4x4s on a school run

'relocation of the pedestrian crossing on Putney Bridge and submitting a revised traffic signal layout to maximise green time for vehicles... ...reverting to the previous bus lane operational hours on Putney Bridge Road and removing cycle wands'

Wandsworth's answer to too many cars seems to be take space from pavements, public transport and cycling for even more cars.

4/ Thomas's School, north Battersea, where Prince George went to school (from Kensington Palace), expanded in 2020 with a new secondary. democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/documents/s7... Nonsense travel plan by WSP reckoned 13% of kids would drive to school (?), with a catchment area in RBKC and LBHF

3/ Elsewhere in Wandsworth, between Tooting and Wandsworth Commons is the private Broomwood School, where in its 2017 plng appl to expand, stated that half the kids get driven democracy.wandsworth.gov.uk/documents/s5... Private primary school, reflecting a very large 'catchment' area

It's during the summer that the implications of designing cities for cars instead of people are most apparent for people traveling outside of cars. Wide streets and short buildings result in large expanses with limited shade.

With #Wandsworth Council's announcement that it's ripping out ped & cycle infra on Putney High Street to make more room for drivers, a thought about the private Putney High School (c300 juniors, c600 seniors) where half kids get driven, blue dots = staff, green = juniors, purple = seniors

The DfT traffic count point map shows 2025 Putney Bridge traffic about 20% lower than in 2019 and less than 50% of the peak in 2015-16. It's always been horrible, but it's FAR less horrible than it was when I used to m-cycle commute that way. roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/count-points...

The gall of those pedestrians wanting to cross the road in some kind of safety

Wouldn't it be great to see Wimbledon embracing more sustainable transport options? Instead of huge SUVs clogging up space on the streets of SW19, imagine a fleet of cargo bikes or small EVs. #AirPollution #Carspreading

Meanwhile on the north side of Putney Bridge @crisortunity.bsky.social

Ahem. To state the obvious Why not focus on reducing cars on their roads - is every car journey necessary ? I suspect not. #climate #pollution #carbrain #health

When your problem is too many cars, but the only solutions you’ll consider are trying to make it easier to drive

Our latest blogpost about when transport planners wanted to bulldoze Dalston for a motorway, and what we can learn about how to fix our car-dominated streets. www.lowtraffichackney.org/latest-news/...

Good grief. Wandsworth Council’s plans to “tackle the gridlock” & “get Puntey’s roads mvping again” all involve stealing space & time from pedestrians in a self-defeating effort to increase traffic throughput 🤦‍♂️ Really bleak, horribly misguided stuff

In which Wandsworth Tories declare war on pedestrians and cyclists. www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/news-ju...

This 1980s government road safety poster was designed to terrify children into vigilance when when crossing the road. It seems outdated, and yet the responsibility for road safety is still put onto pedestrians, cyclists - and children. Let's stop victim-blaming. Follow us for a better way.

3/ The existing illuminated advertisement boards at the Wandsworth roundabout are just about hidden by the East Hill and railway bridges when viewed from Trinity Rd on Wands Common. The new signs will be 2m higher, so easily visible from this position.

The street outside your local school could also look like this.

Action to adapt London to changing climate:

In the very early cycle superhighway plans, CS8 was planned to continue through Wandsworth down to Robin Hood, and had some support from Wands BC. I suspect the issues with Wandsworth's narrow West Hill after the gyratory killed any route beyond Wands' centre. What could have been, alas?

2/ New adverts on Wands roundabout will be 2m higher than existing. Seems TfL sold a long-term lease last year to an advertising co, who've already spoken to WBC officers about replacing the structure. So, a cosy back room deal to get plng perm, regardless of any input from locals or cllrs

Lower speed limits -> "more conducive to hosting digital advertising" PR bollocks to support replacement of the Wandsworth roundabout advertising cube WBC application: 2026/2045

In Hammersmith & Fulham, Tory cllrs continue to fight for the bridge like Japanese soldiers in the undergrowth, while Labour cllrs reiterate support for traffic filtered streets Motions to #LBHF full council 15/7/26: democracy.lbhf.gov.uk/ieListDocume... cc @crisortunity.bsky.social

We're proud to be part of the Healthy Streets Scorecard coalition promoting safe, accessible streets in London. This year's report shows important work has been done - & more still to do! www.cprelondon.org.uk/news/londons...

Sadly, Roehampton Vale is the only sensible way from Robin Hood up to the top of Wimbledon Hill if you need to avoid the mud on the common. It's neglected by TfL, the councils and the Conservators all offloading resp's to each other.

“Self-driving technology has the same discriminatory attitude toward non-automobile modes that need permission and beg for more space against a car-only street mentality. A mass consumer culture of self-driving would be just a replica of the same auto-oriented and dominated world we live in today."

An early test - will they deliver all the micro quick wins identified during the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund data collection exercise? And will the finally host a Healthy Streets Forum?

www.healthystreetsscorecard.london/results/your... Wandsworth remains 13th overall this year, with its final Healthy Streets Scorecard score falling from 5.45 to 5.27 out of 10. The borough still has some strong baseline conditions, but the score fall reflects worsening casualty-rate indicators and

2nd post in this thread about scoring TfL (in)action on TLRN red route roads is really important, and not just a bit shocking. Near 60% of signalised TfL junctions are missing pedestrian signals or entire crossings.

Unbelievable finding on TfL's junctions and the care and importance not put on pedestrians

Do repost this nice bit of clarification/debunking the message by @slothlydad.bsky.social . As you know, I don't like e-scooters, and think illegal/modded "e-bikes" need to be seized. But context is everything.

Good to hear about the overall progress in London at today's Healthy Streets Scorecard annual update. Islington, Waltham Forest and City of London are the overall winners. www.healthystreetsscorecard.london

E-bikes - with pedal assist with speed & power limited by law - are legal and a great way to travel around London. Illegal electric motorbikes - with much more power, speed & weight and with an auto throttle - are a dangerous menace. Good to see the police taking action.

Just listening to @carolinerussell.bsky.social saying that the elephant in the room is traffic reduction. Totally agree! We need the Mayor and boroughs to do more to help people shift away from cars - better public transport, more safe cycling and walking infrastructure. #AirPollution #ActiveTravel

Research is good, but I still think the focus on one feature trying to mitigate a fundamentally broken roads system is misguided because it means nobody has to talk about the bigger picture; and that's a hard subject. Sadly, NFBUK aren't interested. They want cycling for transport banned.