Battersea Bridge safety improvements scheme

Update 13 June 2023  

Between 29 November 2022 and 24 January 2023, we consulted on proposals for safety improvements in the area around Battersea Bridge. This followed urgent changes made to the junction of Battersea Bridge with Cheyne Walk in early 2021 to build a new pedestrian crossing on one arm of the junction and other safety improvements, which we called phase one of the scheme. Following local engagement, we held a public consultation on further proposals to make additional safety improvements to the rest of the junction and surrounding roads.  

We have now published our report on the outcomes of the consultation, which you can view in the ‘Documents’ section of this webpage.  

We received 983 responses to the consultation in total.  

Our responses to the issues raised during the consultation is included in Appendix A of the report. 

After careful consideration of all the consultation responses, we have decided to proceed with the scheme as presented in the consultation materials, with some changes to bus lane hours in response to feedback from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

After reviewing our plans for the wider local area, we will also revisit the banned left turn onto Chelsea Bridge from Grosvenor Road to explore whether there is a solution for this junction that provides safety benefits for cyclists but enables the banned turn to be removed. We’ll carry out our review this year, and will hold a further consultation with local people and other stakeholders on the designs.

We have also offered support to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to review the feasibility of modernising the width restriction on Albert Bridge to 7ft to assist traffic flow, which would help to relieve traffic congestion on other surrounding roads. 

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Overview

Following a number of collisions, including the tragic death of a man crossing the northern junction of Battersea Bridge in early-2021, we developed urgent plans to make this busy junction safer, which we called Phase 1 of the scheme.

In Phase 1 (2021) we built a brand-new green-man pedestrian crossing on the north side of Battersea Bridge to improve safety for people walking at this junction. We also widened the pavement on each side of Battersea Bridge Road, installed tactile paving to make it easier for people with accessibility needs, installed a new advanced stop line for cyclists and lowered the speed limit on Chelsea Embankment and across Battersea Bridge from 30mph to 20mph. These works were completed in November 2021.

Following these works and after listening to local people about their views on the local area, we then ran an engagement exercise to talk about further safety improvements in the area just north of Battersea Bridge at the junction of Battersea Bridge and Cheyne Walk in July 2022.

Over 300 people responded to our survey asking about how they currently cross the junction and the responses showed a significant level of support for further changes to ensure walking and cycling are made safer in the area.

Following this local engagement, we are now consulting on proposals to make further safety improvements to the rest of the junction. In Phase 2 we plan to introduce green-man crossings on all remaining arms of the junction. We also plan to ban the left turn into Beaufort Street.

As part of this scheme, we also plan to make changes to the southern end of Battersea Bridge to further improve safety for people walking and cycling and maintain journey times for buses.

At the northern end of the bridge, we propose to:

• Introduce new straight-across push button pedestrian crossings on Cheyne Walk, Chelsea Embankment and Beaufort Street
• Ban the left turn into Beaufort Street to motor traffic and cyclists to reduce delays and wait times at the turning point, improve safety and eliminate the risk of left turning vehicles colliding with cyclists. We also so plan to provide dropped kerbs and a shared use area on the northwest corner for cyclists
• Make improvements for cyclists at the junction including dedicated cycle signals and a section of segregated cycle track
• Build a new section of westbound bus lane from Royal Hospital Road to the bus stop at Beaufort Street to mitigate delays to bus journeys. A new eastbound bus lane is also proposed from the junction of Beaufort Street to the stop just west of the junction with Old Church Street. The bus lane will operate 24 hours a day, with taxis, motorcycles and cyclists permitted to use it

At the southern side of Battersea Bridge in Wandsworth, we are proposing to:

• Install a new push button pedestrian crossing on Battersea Bridge Road, close to Hester Road to link with the Thames Path, where we plan to install a bus gate which will also improve bus journey times for buses travelling northwards
• Introduce a new pedestrian and cyclist crossing at the Battersea Bridge Road/Battersea Church Road junction to improve both pedestrian and cyclist safety, as well as help manage previously confirmed aggressive driver behaviour when entering and exiting Battersea Church Road. We propose to remove a parking bay (2 cars) in Battersea Church Road to accommodate the new stop line for the signal controlled junction
• Extend the bus lane from Banbury Street northwards on Battersea Bridge Road to improve bus journey times. We also propose to remove one 12m parking bay (2 car spaces) at this location to accommodate the new bus lane
• Reconfigure the crossing points at the junction of Battersea Bridge Road with the Prince of Wales Drive, widening pavements, removing the existing traffic island, and building two new push button crossings. We also propose to reduce the parking bay by 5m (1 car) at Prince of Wales Drive to and remove a loading bay on Battersea Bridge Road to accommodate the new signalised crossing
• Ban the right turn from Battersea Bridge Road into Parkgate Road, and the left turn into the B305 (and make kerb adjustments at Westbridge Road). This will improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists and improve journey times for buses

In addition to making Battersea Bridge a safer place for people walking and cycling, it is critical the schemes at both ends of the bridge work well together to keep traffic moving as efficiently as possible across the bridge, through junction and surrounding roads.

In December 2021, we introduced a 20mph speed limit on Chelsea Embankment and on Battersea Bridge. We also plan to introduce a 20mph speed limit along A3220 Battersea Bridge Road. Subject to resources, we aim for this to be introduced in March 2024. We will be in touch with residents and stakeholders closer to the time with more information.

Engagement exercise - scheme proposals at the northern end of the bridge

From 12 July to 23 August 2022, we ran a survey asking people to share their initial thoughts on how they felt our plans for the northern side of the bridge will impact on safety.

Over 300 people responded to the survey, and 27 people sent us their thoughts via email.

The survey asked people to tell us how they mostly cross this junction now, and how safe they feel when crossing on foot and when cycling. 341 people completed the survey.

Of those respondents:

• 78.9% told us they feel very unsafe or fairly unsafe when crossing the junction on foot
• 79.5% told us they feel very unsafe or fairly unsafe when crossing the junction by bike

We then asked people to tell us what they think we should prioritise when making changes to the junction. 

Respondents ranked the needs of pedestrians as their top priority, followed by the needs of cyclists, and the needs of bus passengers.

The lowest priorities for local people (78.2% of respondents classified themselves as a local resident) were the needs of motorists.

The results of this part of the survey in full are as follows:

Ranked in order of importance:

1. The needs of pedestrians
2. The needs of cyclists
3. The needs of bus passengers
4. The needs of motorists making business trips
5. The needs of motorists making personal trips

A full report of the engagement exercise is available in the 'Documents' section.

Have your say

We want to know your views and we are holding an eight week consultation on our proposals. You can reply by following the link to the online survey below.

You will need to register with our Have your say platform to take part in the online survey and your details will be kept secure. Alternatively, you can send your response to us by email at haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk or by post to FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY. The closing date for comments is 24 January 2023.

Information to help you respond

We want this consultation to be accessible to everyone. If you need to translate this page into another language, please use the ‘Select language’ button in the bottom-left hand corner of this page.

There is additional information in the ‘Documents’ section of this page:

• An Easy Read document to explain our proposals and Easy Read survey
• A British Sign Language video which includes audio
• A document to show a summary of the changes we are proposing
• Maps to show the location and where the changes are proposed
• Frequently asked questions about the scheme
• More information on our traffic modelling
• A copy of our consultation survey if you would prefer to complete a hard copy and post it to our Freepost address (which is FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY)

Virtual Community Conversation 

As part of our consultation, we are hosting one-on-one ‘Community Conversations’ with local people who have questions about the scheme. The sessions are intended only for those people who need to discuss a question with us so that they can then submit a response to the consultation. If you simply want to tell us about your views of the Battersea Bridge scheme, the best way to do that is to reply to the consultation. You can do that by completing our survey, sending us an email or writing to us at our Freepost address.

If you have a more general question, our FAQs may already have the answer, please check there first. For further details, or to register to take part, please see our Eventbrite booking page.