Bus, taxi services hit by Bush road closure

Get set for jams

Chaos is set to descend on W12 as half of the Green is closed off to allow major gas works to take place. The entire westbound stretch between Holland Park Roundabout and Rockley Road will be closed, with traffic being diverted down the A40 and up the Old Oak Road, then onto Uxbridge Road at the Askew Road/Uxbridge Road junction.

A few things to bear in mind.

First of all if gas works need to be carried out, then they need to be carried out. There is never going to be a good time to do it. 

However secondly I was told recently by a reader that a black cab trade magazine has already advised cabs not to bother going into Shepherd's Bush for the duration of the works. This is because they will be diverted onto the A40 and then sit in traffic jams instead of picking up new fares. So don't plan on getting a cab back home if it's late. Fancy a bus instead? Well...

Bus services will be severely disrupted. Transport for London have announced today that passengers wishing to travel on route 94 towards Acton Green, route 207 towards Hayes, route 237 towards Hounslow Heath, route 260 towards Golders Green, route 295 towards Clapham Junction, route 607 towards Uxbridge and route N207 towards Uxbridge will all need to use a temporary stop T1 located on Shepherd's Bush Green. 

Route 148 towards White City will use stop HD located on Holland Park westbound. 

While passengers who wish to travel in the opposite direction on these routes will continue to use their normal stop.

But I've saved the best till last: sharp eyed readers will note that the traffic, which will be substantial, is being funneled cleverly into one of the most dangerous junctions in the local area, the Askew/Uxbridge Road, which even in the last couple of days has seen two car crashes as people try to navigate the complex lane system which our Council introduced a couple of years ago. It sees numerous pedestrian near misses as cars jump across because the lights only let a few at a time if they are turning right or left, and sadly some people end up getting hit. 

As frustrations build on that junction, at which you can routinely see even bus drivers losing their rag and driving on the wrong side of the road to navigate, people will start to use the side roads off both sides of Old Oak Road instead, turning them into even bigger speeding rat runs than they already are. 

Let's just hope nobody gets hurt.