FAQ 14. Other benefits
FAQ 14. Other benefits
How does this scheme benefit anyone but car users?
What LCC say:
While the main benefit of the scheme will be improved access for motorised users, there will also be an improvement to walking and cycling facilities along Putney Road. The council submitted a second bid to the National Productivity Investment Fund to ease bus congestion around the city, for which we were also awarded funding by the Department for Transport.
What we say:
Whilst the successful second bid to ease bus congestion in the city is welcome it has no connection with the Putney Link Road bid and is not evidence that the Putney Road scheme will benefit anyone but car users. So why is it mentioned here?
The claim that walking and cycling facilities will be improved is both misleading and false. Bringing additional traffic into Putney Road will deter cyclists and walkers, not attract them. In addition, there will not be a dedicated two-way cycle-way along the length of Putney Road, neither will there be a continuous walking route along both sides of the road. The council does not own land wider than the existing roadway and this is insufficient in places to cater for either cyclists or walkers. Towards the Welford Road end of Putney Road there will be a cycleway painted on the road, and no pavement at all on one side. We find it difficult to understand how this will constitute an improvement on the existing facilities, and have even more difficulty in understanding how this will lead to more cyclist and walkers using the route when there is much more traffic on the road.
