We're calling on councils to explore a car-free transport solution for Hammersmith Bridge

We’re calling on Hammersmith and Fulham and Richmond Councils to agree to a full feasibility study for our car-free alternative to reopening Hammersmith Bridge to motor traffic.

In the four years since excess motor traffic broke Hammersmith Bridge and it was forced to close to cars, vehicle counts show that traffic has actually fallen across southwest London, even in key places where some local people believe it has got worse. The Mayor of London and Hammersmith & Fulham Council have both committed to challenging climate change targets which require a reduction in car traffic of over a quarter by 2030, but do not currently have the right policies in place to achieve this. 

The alternative

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We have created an alternative proposal for Hammersmith Bridge which has been developed with highways engineers and autonomous vehicle manufacturers, and is based on over a year of engagement with local communities and stakeholders on both sides of the river to explore local transport needs.

Stabilisation works to the bridge to make it safe for walking and cycling permanently are due to complete in the next few weeks, with the carriageway reopening to cyclists only. The proposal would also introduce a two-way protected cycle lane that would run across the bridge adjacent to the pods and would ensure that people could still walk across the bridge.

Public Transport

We are proposing to use small, lightweight electric driverless shuttles to enable travel for those who cannot easily walk or cycle over the bridge, and re-establish a vital public transport link without the need for further costly engineering work to the Grade II Listed structure. 

The 10-passenger ‘pods’ will enable people with mobility difficulties in Barnes and Roehampton who cannot easily walk or cycle over the bridge to access public transport connections and amenities in Hammersmith town centre for the first time since it closed in 2019. The proposal would also involve a restructuring of bus routes to ensure that continuous journeys can operate smoothly over the river here.

The Cost

Cost estimates for reopening the Victorian bridge to motor traffic have climbed to hundreds of millions of pounds, while this alternative proposal would cost less than £10 million.

In fact, we estimate that the total costs of delivering our alternative scheme would be less than what has already been spent by authorities on trying and failing to reopen the bridge to cars

With still no funding agreement in sight for the hugely costly work which would be needed to reopen Hammersmith Bridge to cars, it’s long past time for authorities to take other options for meeting local transport needs seriously.

Our proposal looks to the clean transport technologies of the future, and could genuinely be in operation serving local communities within months. All we need to go ahead is for the councils to agree to let us carry out a full feasibility study.

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