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West London Tram THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEAA5 CABINET MEETING - 6 JANUARY 2005 REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION AND HIGHWAYS WEST LONDON TRAM FOR INFORMATION 1. Introduction 1.1 The Mayor of London carried out a public consultation on the West London Tram which ended on 8 October 2004. TfL had not provided the Council with the information on the effect of the tram to enable officers to brief the Council prior to this date. Whilst an initial officer response was submitted on the 8 October which is attached as appendix 1, TfL promised that we would receive the information by the end of November and extended the date for receipt of the Council’s full response until January. 1.2 Officers have now received further information from TfL which whilst still inadequate is all TfL are prepared to produce at this stage. Therefore this report sets out below a way forward for the production of the Council’s formal response. 1.3 On 19 January 2005 members will have the opportunity to attend a presentation from TfL. Following the meeting a formal response will be prepared and sent to TfL. 2. Background 2.1 The Mayor of London’s policies on transport are outlined in his Transport Strategy, published in 2001. This includes a proposal to introduce a tram in west London, between Uxbridge and Shepherd’s Bush. 2.2 The proposed tram will run on existing roads, in the main the Uxbridge Road. It will be a mix between dedicated tramway, where cars are excluded, and shared running with other traffic. 2.3 Until the issue was raised by Officers, TfL had assumed that the scheme would have no impact on the Royal Borough, despite the scheme terminating at Shepherd’s Bush Green, just feet away from the borough boundary. 2.4 A public consultation exercise was undertaken by TfL in summer/autumn 2004. Due to the lack of information on the impact of the scheme in the Royal Borough TfL agreed to undertake 1 additional traffic modelling work and to extend the deadline for the Royal Borough until after this had been completed. 2.5 Within the consultation TfL published the following timetable: Autumn/Winter 2004 Report on consultation Winter 2004 Mayoral decision Spring 2005 Transport and Works Order Autumn 2005 Public Inquiry Summer 2006 Secretary of state decision on scheme Winter 2005- Spring 2007 Procurement Spring/Summer 2007 Construction Starts Early 2011 First tram However, it is now obvious that this timetable has slipped. 3. ISSUES FOR THE ROYAL BOROUGH 3.1 The consultation included limited information on traffic flows, design, the environment and the economy. It is understood that final information will not be available from TfL until the consultation for the Transport and Works Act is undertaken. 3.2 However, the following provides an indication of some of the areas of potential difficulty. Traffic Flow 3.3 The introduction of a Tram along the Uxbridge Road is likely to have a significant impact on the distribution of traffic across west London. The termination of the route at the new White City Development adjacent to the Central Line station is likely to increase patronage on the Central Line and bus services to and from central London. 3.4 TfL’s proposed route necessitates significant changes to the traffic management arrangements at Shepherd’s Bush Green. In particular the north side of the green will be closed to all traffic (except eastbound buses and access) and the southern side converted to two way operation. It is expected that this element of the proposal will have a serious adverse impact on the road network in the Royal Borough. 3.5 In particular the closure of part of Shepherd’s Bush Green may result in reduced capacity of Shepherd’s Bush Green leading to: • increased congestion on Holland Park Avenue, Kensington High Street and Holland Road; • increased rat-running through the residential streets of North Kensington; and 2 • increased journey times for residents of the Royal Borough travelling within the Borough. 3.6 Officers were concerned that TfL had failed to provide the Council with the information that is required to determine what the impact on the residents of the Borough would be. 3.7 Officers met with TfL on 16 April 2004 and were disturbed to discover the lack of detail in the transport model being used to assess the scheme. 3.8 The public consultation, which ended on 8 October 2004, included no further information to that seen by Officers in April 2004 and TfL agreed that Members would be able to meet with TfL once traffic implications of the proposal were known. 3.9 In November some further traffic modelling data was received from TfL and on 30 November officers met with TfL to highlight remaining concerns with the data provided. This data suggested that significant increases in traffic and congestion could be expected within the Royal Borough. In particular on Kensington High Street, Holland Park Avenue, Holland Road and Cromwell Road. In addition the public transport model shows that crowding on the Central Line will increase due to interchange with the tram at Shepherds Bush. 3.10 Officers remain extremely concerned that the traffic model does not meet the normal standards that would be expected and could therefore be seriously under estimating the traffic flow increases and over estimating the benefits that the tram could accrue. To some extent these concerns are shared by TfL officers who have confirmed that further information will be available with the publication of the Transport and Works Order. 3.11 The traffic model appears to underestimate journey times on the Uxbridge Road and fails to replicate existing traffic flows across the modelled network. Both of these form the basis for the assessment of a model’s robustness. Furthermore, the model does not include specific traffic flows associated with the White City development or changes that could occur to traffic flows if the Mayor of London proceeds to extend the congestion charging scheme. 3.12 For information the model shows that Kensington High Street will have an increase in traffic of over 400 vehicles in the eastbound direction and 200 westbound, during the am peak and that delays will increase at junctions and a two way increase of about 300 vehicles on Holland Road. Similarly the model shows a small decrease in traffic on the A40 and Harrow Road. Southbound traffic in Royal Crescent shows an increase of about 100 vehicles per hour. 3 However, as described above officers have no confidence in these figures as the traffic model fails to replicate existing traffic appropriately and therefore these figures should be treated with extreme caution. Design 3.12 The proposed Tram system will not be located in the Royal Borough. The consultation material included detailed design for stations and junctions along the route. It is not considered necessary for the Council to comment on the design at this stage of the proposal. If the scheme progresses to a Transport and Works Act we will then have the opportunity to comment on the final design. However, the response to TfL will draw attention to the Streetscape policies being pursued in the borough and the importance of good design. Members should however be mindful that the Mayor and other stakeholders have stated that the potential exists for the future extension of the Tram along Holland Park Avenue/Bayswater Road to provide a link to Oxford Street and the West End. Environment 3.13 The consultation material includes a limited assessment on the environmental impacts of the proposal. These are based on the traffic reduction expected along the corridor of the Tram. At this stage TfL are understood not to have assessed the environmental impact of increased traffic and congestion within the Royal Borough. Economy & Finance 3.14 The Mayor of London’s Business Plan does not include funding for the implementation of the scheme. It is expected that during the next Central Government Spending Review a bid for funding will be launched. 3.15 Until robust traffic flow data is available is available it is difficult to assess the proposal in detail. 4. CONCLUSIONS 4.1 The report on the consultation is now being finalised by TfL and the Royal Borough has yet to publish a formal response. This is due to the failure of TfL to provide adequate information on the potential impact of the scheme on traffic and transport within the Royal Borough. 4.2 TfL have now confirmed that no further information will be available to determine the impact on the Royal Borough until the publication of the Transport and Works Order. 4 4.3 TfL will attend a meeting on 19 January 2005 to outline the current proposals and assist Members in formulating a view before an official response is submitted to TfL. 4.4 A response will be prepared based upon the content of this report and members’ views. FOR INFORMATION CRAIG WILSON Director of Transportation and Highways Officer contact: Richard Case 020 7361 3747 Background papers: None 5 .
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