Stop Westminster City Council creating dangerous and polluting rat-runs through Pimlico.

Westminster City Council (WCC) are consulting you on whether to enforce a permanent ban on Eastbound traffic along a key section of Warwick Way.  The consultation closes on December 6th 2023, so responses need to be submitted without delay.

This is not a "Pro Car campaign" but is instead driven by a desire to ensure safe and efficient movement of traffic and pedestrians within Pimlico.  We agree, a car-free utopia sounds idyllic but at present it is unrealistic and the WCC proposals are set to create more harm than good.  Everyone is in favour of creating better road designs that allow for a more pleasant physical environment, with safer access for residents and enabling Pimlico to maintain its neighbourhood village atmosphere.  We believe this can be achieved by taking a more pragmatic and economic approach than currently proposed.  

Warwick Way is the main East-West route through Pimlico for good reason. It is the widest, safest, least residential and most direct road within the Pimlico grid.  An eastbound section closure between Belgrave Road and Upper Tachbrook Street will result in rat-runs through residential roads within the grid, resulting in greater levels of congestion, delay and pollution.

The most persuasive argument on safety surely comes from the medical partners at NHS Medical Centre: 

“We are absolutely against the decision to make Warwick Way a one-way street with traffic unable to travel Eastbound.  During Covid and for sometime afterwards we experienced the one-way system with pavements extending into the roads. This caused a very large increase in traffic coming through Longmoore Street and into Upper Tachbrook Street with often traffic building up the whole way, making the junction very difficult in particular. Not only is this dangerous for our patients trying to navigate their way on foot to the surgery, but also clogged up our set down area where older and more frail patients can be ‘dropped off’. On one occasion I remember seeing a situation where there was so much traffic that an ambulance could not stop in front of the surgery, a situation which probably happens on a daily basis. On top of that the increase in fumes and noise from stationary vehicles in the street was noticeable. It is such a relief to have the normal flow of traffic.

We also felt that all the bars, pubs and restaurants spewing into the street made it difficult to walk on the pavement for some and increased the amount of litter and rubbish on the pavement. We have in excess of a 1000 local residents requiring access to our purpose built surgery in Warwick Way/ Upper Tachbrook Street everyday and there is no doubt that to go ahead with these plans would make access to the surgery more difficult, particularly for the more vulnerable members of the community.”  November 10th 2023

Do not be fooled by WCC stating that there is ‘overwhelming support’ to make Warwick Way one-way, they cite a flawed and misleading previous survey.  A number of significant businesses on Warwick Way & Rochester Row strongly oppose the proposal, including the NHS Medical Centre, Pharmacies and others.  Taxi driver associations and some Westminster Councillors also oppose the scheme.  Vincent Square Residents’ Association do not support the scheme as reported.

The WCC stated that stated that "alternative routes are approximately 530m to 700m in length and the additional journey times are 2 to 3 minutes along the Warwick Way corridor."  Despite this they have failed to produce a traffic plan for displaced vehicles and refuse to do so. 

“We won’t be providing a map showing the consequential routes as we are not signing any alternative routes specifically under the proposed scheme because there are currently no directional signs for eastbound or westbound destinations anywhere along the Warwick Way corridor. It is also worth noting that drivers will plan their wider journeys more strategically using Satnavs.” October 7th 2023 Westminster Council  

We feel this is an irresponsible and inadequate response.  The most likely route recommended by Satnav (and as used during Covid) is shown below.  This creates a number of unnecessary danger spots: Sharp Left turn on to Belgrave Rd, two residential roads, crossing Wilton Road with busy bus routes and a right hand turn outside the NHS medical centre.

SEE MAP BELOW

One of the main objectives for this project is to increase the potential for al fresco dining (a seasonal and time-restricted benefit).  The TMO is proposed for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for its limited purpose and so disproportionate even for its objectives. Current al fresco dining facilities are under-utilised for a large majority of the year.

The project will cost over £2,000,000 in ratepayers’ money and no economic benefit has yet been discussed.  The WCC have not commented on whether business rates will increase for the establishments that will benefit from larger trading footprints.

Will the proposals result in an economic benefit for WCC ratepayers or is this simply a vanity project for the council? 

The WCC has failed to provide interested parties with adequate information in order to make informed judgements.  This TMO consultation is only going ahead after it was pointed out to the council that a previous "consultation" was misleading and not legally binding.  The following quotes are from Messrs. Richard Buxton solicitors addressed to the Council:

"Decision makers must be able to “conscientiously consider” any proposed scheme and responses to the proposal. Relying on the previous Warwick Way Consultation as support for a scheme closing Warwick Way will lead to conspicuous unfairness for a number of stakeholders who have a legitimate expectation that their concerns will be listened to. In particular, Westminster Council appear to suggest that the principle (or policy) of road closure is not up for debate on the basis you have gauged public appetite for closing Warwick Way. This is misleading. WCC’s approach is bound to cause confusion, with varying rationales being relied upon for a permanent scheme. The emergency response legislation introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic has a sunset clause, and the reasons for al fresco dining (i.e., to encourage social distancing) are no longer on a statutory footing from 30 September 2023. Any (purported) public interest in the proposed change must be considered in that context."

"It is essential that any further consultation be independent, fair, and unbiased, avoiding any reference to the Warwick Way Consultation to prevent out of date, unclear and misleading justification. Any Consultation should not be managed by interested parties seeking to benefit by contract work as was the case in the past."

It should be noted that FM Conway conducted the previous consultation and provided the data for this consultation.  FM Conway have a vested interest in the result as they wish to receive the contract for the works.