Afternoon:
7°c
'Stop thousands of Westfield shoppers jamming our streets'
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard2 Oct 2008
Visitors to London's new £1.7 billion shopping centre could cause chaos on surrounding roads unless urgent action is taken, council leaders warned today.
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.
Reader views (25)
What people must remember is that since the Tory party came to power in H&F, they have approved planning applications almost doubling the floor area of the centre. The greater the floor area – the more shops – the more there is to attract people to the centre. What the planning committee didn’t secure was extra benefits for the community. The traffic chaos is the doing of the current leader and his party and no one else.
- R Wayne, london village, 29/10/2008 21:16
Report abuse
Being a Londoner I agree with Tom, London we have this new centre about to open and complaints about congestion well the centre is built on the site used for the 1908 Olympics which goes to show how long this area of land has been allowed to go to waste.
As for congestion if this is the case then getting rid of the Western C-Charge is the last thing to do at this moment. It would make more sense to extend the Zone to include the centre within the Zone and thus deter overuse of cars.
Public transport has been improved with the new overground station at Shepherds Bush just opened and the rebuilt central line station together with a new station at Wood lane about to open. Bus services are also being extended to serve the centre which will have 2 bus stations.
The centre was also to be served by the West London Tram but even though it lies on the route of the old number 7 tram local Tories opposed the scheme and will now have to face the mounting congestion which this opposition will cause. You can have Trams or Jams it appears Jam will spread through west London.
Westfield are also building a centre at Stratford where the Olympics will be held and given the rain we get it cant come soon enough!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 04/10/2008 17:26
Report abuse
Of course there should have been a tram directly to the shopping centre, but I do believe it was abandoned as a direct result of Hammersmith and Fulham and other Tory councils. They are, as possibly the most unpleasant council in London, in no position to complain about extra traffic on the roads, having opposed public transport improvements and the congestion charge western extension, the abolition of which would add more traffic to the roads of west London. They have no answers, no solutions, only shrill whinging.
- Tom, London, 02/10/2008 20:08
Report abuse
So which jobsworthLESS (please name and shame) approved the building plans in the first place.
Ever heard of joined up goverment - Planning, roads, transport issues etc etc. - Even John Prescott did spout on the issue but then who listened to him anyway
- Howard, Herts UK, 02/10/2008 20:07
Report abuse
Stupidity, should be painful.
- Trevor Jones, California USA, 02/10/2008 19:01
Report abuse
It has struck me looking at the photograph of new shopping centre just how truly ugly it is. For that reason alone I will not bother to visit the same shops which are in every other dreary centre. Why can't the developers and planners make these large new buildings beautiful.
- Mike Burton, London, 02/10/2008 18:30
Report abuse
How long has it taken to build Westfield and they talk about traffic congestion now?
How about finishing the road works on the A40 - West Cross Route roundabout to start with which would help, but no, lets talk about it instead.
- Les, Essex, UK, 02/10/2008 18:22
Report abuse
It's on my doorstep and the problems are here already. There were 31 contractors vans parked in the residents bays in my zone when I tried to park at 11.00 today.
- Giles Phillips, Shepherd's Bush, 02/10/2008 18:16
Report abuse
Why do people drive? We intend to go to Westfield - by car. I live in Hammersmith right at the bottom West corner. We have no bus services in our little pocket of London and are a 15 minute walk from the nearest tube station, involving walking through underpasses with no security or cameras. That tube station won't connect with Westfield without a change at Hammersmith from the District Line station to the Hammersmith and City Line Station which means coming right out of one tube station and crossing several very busy roads to get into the other. The journey will take at least 30 minutes, compared with 10 minutes door to door by car. You cannot carry heavy shopping on the tube. That's why some people drive.
- Tom Moncrieff, London, 02/10/2008 17:22
Report abuse
You need to drive there to be able to transport away all the goods that you've purchased at Westfield.
- Eric, London, 02/10/2008 16:34
Report abuse
Hilarious! When this was proposed, I wrote to the council asking how they would deal with the impending congestion. Thousands of people like me must have seen this coming, and yet, the planners who enjoy the luxury of final decision making, could not. I understood that every planning permission of this magnitude would have a transport and access study undertaken as part of the planning process. My sympathy lies with the residents of Shepherds Bush. Hopefully the credit crunch will save them from the congestion.
- Mysie,, Stanmore, Middlesex, 02/10/2008 16:26
Report abuse
There is nothing sustainable about this project. A giant concrete and glass cage for England's fat chimpanzee consumers to waddle around amusing themselves and increasing the debt on their credit cards! It is amazing that shopping and "experience" fit in the same sentence but we have to remember that in UK shopping is not only the national sport but the basis of the economy. It is sad.
- J Kerowne, London, 02/10/2008 15:24
Report abuse
I drive everywhere because I'd much rather sit in my comfy car in traffic than sit on a packed out Tube.
To ease west-London congestion, the A4 and M4 needs to be widened. We need double-story motorway systems like the rest of the western world. If we can build underground railways, why can't we link the mall with underground road tunnels?
The problem is that we spend all our money on public transport, and not enough on improving the roads.
- Adam, London, 02/10/2008 14:57
Report abuse
Presumably the local authority granted planning permission for this building in the first place. It hardly behoves them to moan about a problem they have created. the usual story of ill trained incompetents managing our affairs with no ability to think stategically or beyond their next visit to a pub. We have the same problem in Bury with a local authority that has completely ignored sensible advice and their council tax payers and gone ahead with a great big boil of a place dumped on this lovely medieval town.
- Malcolm, Bury st Edmunds UK, 02/10/2008 13:59
Report abuse
What gets me is that so few people nowadays seem capable of joined up and long term thinking! Another example is that Farringdon and Blackfriars underground stations are being rebuilt next year and yet they are two of the major interchanges between the ThamesUnlinked route and the underground. This should cause sever overcrowding at the St. Pancras and London Bridge interchanges. Why not finish one before starting the other?
- Michael, London, 02/10/2008 13:09
Report abuse
Why does anyone need to drive there when there are two new stations being opened right next door to the entrances?
- Darren, London, 02/10/2008 13:03
Report abuse
Westfield is in a really unpleasant part of London. I hope they have a lot of security. Mind you, they will not be needed as we are hitting a recession and the mall will be empty. Great timing eh?
- Finbar Taggit, Mayfair, London, 02/10/2008 12:58
Report abuse
Early traffic jams might well encourage more people to use the tube, so the 60% figure could rise. The problem with Bluewater is that you pretty much HAVE to drive to get out there. That's why there are queues. I visited a new Westfield mall overseas earlier in the year, and it was amazing. I'm really looking forward to great shops all undercover in the middle of London. I might avoid the first couple of weeks, though, and the first million people!!
- Freya, London, 02/10/2008 12:19
Report abuse
I live not far from the Westfield development. Based on the experience of the White Rose shopping centre in Leeds, the extra parking space might even relieve the pressure on the surrounding areas.
If Boris has the guts to scrap the extension zone, which has displaced traffic from Kensington to Hammersmith, traffic around White City might slacken back towards pre-extension levels.
- Jools, London, 02/10/2008 11:55
Report abuse
Millions and millions of pounds spent on a new shopping experience with no thought on the road network around it. Shepherds Bush is and has been congested for most of the day before this complex was built.
The roundabout and surrounding roads will be a nightmare for people to escape once they have visited this place.
Just typical of Londons planners,a poor road network dosn't just affect the motorist it has an impact on the rest of us too with poorer air quality and unsafe roads for all users.
- Mr S.Port, London, 02/10/2008 11:49
Report abuse
Which brain surgeon decided to build a shopping centre in one of the most congested parts of London?
- Nobby Clark, Perth, Scotland, 02/10/2008 11:39
Report abuse
Its the council's fault. How did this shopping complex get past the planning stage without Hammersmith & Fulham council considering the impact on traffic? Its the councils fault and now they want TFL to sort out the problems, so that the rest of London pays for their mistakes.
- Yunus Aswat, ex-London resident, UK, 02/10/2008 11:38
Report abuse
I wouldn't worry too much...even if it does open on time, half the shops wont actually be open, and wont be for some time.
- Md, London, UK, 02/10/2008 11:20
Report abuse
Well, let's face it, only fools would build the place so close to a built up area, obviously, didn't learn the lesson of Bluewater and Lakeside at Christmas, it was there to see.
None so blind as them that look but do not see!
- George, Bexleyheath, 02/10/2008 11:10
Report abuse
Why have an 'out of town' style shopping centre inside London in the first place? Far better to spruce up Oxford Street.
- C Harrison, London, 02/10/2008 10:26
Report abuse
