Major changes could be coming to another section of a busy road in South London to cut crashes and improve safety.
Wandsworth Council has unveiled plans to improve safety along the southern segment of Queenstown Road, in Battersea, with works already being carried out to its northern section.
A new report by council officers said the overall scheme, improving safety along both sections of Queenstown Road, would create “a continuous high-quality pedestrian and cycle corridor between Chelsea Bridge and the borough boundary with Lambeth”.
The route is busy with pedestrians, cyclists, buses and cars.
The council started putting together plans to redesign the road to improve its safety in 2019. It began construction work to improve the northern section of the road, between Queen’s Circus and Chelsea Bridge, in March this year – including replacing “substandard” cycle lanes with stepped tracks, safety improvements for cyclists at junctions and planting more trees.
A total of 79 people were injured in 71 collisions on this section of the road from 2018 to February 2023, according to data published in a previous council report. This included 33 cyclists and 10 pedestrians, with motorcyclists accounting for most of the remaining casualties. Out of the 71 collisions, one person died and 19 people were seriously injured.
The latest council report confirmed the authority is now moving ahead with plans to improve the southern section of Queenstown Road south of Battersea Park Road. It said this segment has a sharp bend as it passes under three railway bridges and three junctions identified as collision hotspots at Battersea Park Road, Ingate Place and Silverthorne Road, with 15, seven and nine collisions respectively from 2018 to 2022.
The council plans to launch a public consultation on proposals for the southern section of the road in autumn, before starting work in 2026/27 if it decides to proceed. The plans include removing the northbound bus lane between Southolm Street and Silverthorne Road and installing a northbound stepped track cycle lane, and replacing the southbound cycle lane with a stepped track.
Lighting and art would be installed under the railway bridges, along with another signal-controlled pedestrian crossing close to the Queenstown Road station bus stops south of Ingate Place and traffic-calming measures at Ravenet Street. The entry to Silverthorne Road would be narrowed to cut the width of the crossing and the speed of turning vehicles, while parallel cycle routes would be introduced on Ingelow Road and St Philip Street.
The plans would also see footways widened, inset parking bays introduced south of Stanley Grove, new trees planted along Queenstown Road and improvements to Queenstown Green. The exact cost of the scheme would depend on the final measures taken forward for construction.
The report added: “Queenstown Road is a key corridor in the eastern part of the borough with major improvements being introduced in the northern section of the road in 2025. Consulting on further improvements to the southern section of the road will be the next step in creating a high-quality corridor linking Chelsea Bridge to the borough boundary with Lambeth.
“Seeking the views and feedback from residents, businesses and road users will ensure that proposed improvements are fit for purpose and help to ensure the project objectives are achieved.”
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