Fulham Palace Road to get £540,000 for new crossings

London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced a package of over half a million pounds to upgrade Fulham Palace Road, which for the unitiated with the south of the borough goes from just south of Hammersmith roundabaout down through Fulham and leads basically down to the river crossing to Putney. Many local drivers, including me occasionally, use it - and when we do we notice two things, chiefly -

• huge amounts of congestion leading to traffic that crawls either north or south, and;
• crossings that hold traffic up and don't seem to be in the right places anyway

The crossing outside Charing Cross Hospital is fair enough but what is that crossing down near the roundabout just before Putney bridge all about? Putting a crossing for pedestrians right next to a busy roundabout is surely a pretty thick thing to do anyway, but in addition to being dangerous it also snarls up the crossing.

In addition the money will fund measures to smooth traffic and level road surfaces to make it easier for people using wheelchairs or buggies.

Boris said: "This funding will allow the boroughs to make real improvements to town centres, provide better cycling facilities and makes roads safer across the capital.


"I am especially pleased we have been able to cut the red tape that used to surround these schemes and give the boroughs more freedom to choose how they want to spend money and improve local communities."

Peter Hendy, London Transport Commissioner, said: "Delivering the Mayor's vision for transport in London is an ambitious task and it is essential we work in partnership with the London boroughs to make it happen.


"This investment will play a significant role in continuing to improve transport access across the capital."

So welcome new changes - but a little bit pricey isn't it?!