'Stop thousands of Westfield shoppers jamming our streets'

Hammersmith & Fulham councillors are calling on Transport for London to tackle already congested roads around the Westfield London shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush.

Up to half a million people are expected to visit the centre every week when it opens on 30 October, with just 60 per cent using public transport.

The remaining shoppers will rely on the 4,500 extra parking spaces and 570 cycle spaces.

TfL's research shows 7.6 million hours are lost stuck in traffic every year in the borough and now the situation is expected to get worse.

Public transport links to the area have been improved with a new overground station which opened last weekend and the new Wood Lane underground station, which insiders say could open as early as 12 October.

The Shepherd's Bush central line station has also been refurbished and could open on Sunday.

But council bosses say while the improvement in public transport is welcomed drivers will suffer as the borough already has the most congested roads in London.

Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham, Stephen Greenhalgh, said: "We are very pleased that, with the council's help, these important new public transport improvements have the green light to open.

"But TfL must not forget about west London's drivers and the council will continue to press TfL for urgent solutions. The council is working on a scheme that will improve the traffic flow at the junction of Fulham Palace Road and Hammersmith Broadway and benefit all road users and we want to ensure that TfL provides the funds."

But a spokeswoman for TfL said all the work had already been done and £200 million had been invested in transport infrastructure in the area.

She also pointed out that the new Wood Lane underground station was the first between existing stations in 70 years. A TfL spokeswoman said: "A robust plan to manage the extra traffic and transport has been agreed.

"Parking at Westfield will be limited and more than 60 per cent of visitors to the centre are expected to use public transport.

"That is why £200 million has been invested to ensure we can meet that demand and encourage as many people as possible to use public transport.

"Motorists in west London should also be assured that alongside our investment in public transport we will continue to investigate the best ways of alleviating congestion."

A new White City bus station is also scheduled to open in November-with the local routes expected to be extended to: 31, 49, 148, 207, 237, 260, 607 and C1.

As part of the improvements, Shepherd's Bush station on the Hammersmith & City line will be renamed Shepherd's Bush Market.

A new fleet of trains on the Hammersmith & City lines are also due to be operational from 2011.

The trains will have walkways between carriages, airconditioning and wider doorways.

The council is planning a transport summit later in the year.