A new section of Cycleway 9 in Hounslow is now open. The nearly 1km cycle lane connects Watermans Park with Alexandra Road.
Published: Thursday, 22nd August 2024
It’s time to celebrate another great milestone for cycling, walking and wheeling in Hounslow with the opening of the latest section of Cycleway 9.
After months of construction, the new route from Watermans Park to Alexandra Road is now open for people to enjoy.
The project is a partnership between Hounslow Council, Transport for London (TfL) and Hounslow Highways.
Cycleway 9 has been created to encourage more people to get around under their own steam, whether on foot, through pedal power, pram-pushing and other wheeled ways of travelling.
The key features of the new route include:
- Protected cycle lanes on both sides of the high street.
- Two new pedestrian crossings on High Street, near Alexandra Road and Pottery Road.
- High-quality pavement surfaces for pedestrians.
- Upgrades to four existing pedestrian crossings at Ferry Lane, Ealing Road, North Road and Holland Gardens.
- Redesign of side roads and junctions to make them safer for people walking and cycling.
This section is the latest in a series of Cycleway 9 connections in Hounslow, which include Chiswick High Road between Chiswick Lane and Heathfield Terrace and Watermans Park to Kew Bridge.
The length of the new section is 0.9km, taking the total for Cycleway 9 in Hounslow to 2.9km.
During the construction of the new Brentford section, Hounslow Highways completed the following:
- Laid more than 1,000 metres of new drainage pipes.
- Excavated about 2,000 cubic metres of material.
- Laid nearly 11,000 square metres of macadam surfacing.
- Laid about 4,000 square metres of footway paving.
- Laid nearly 4,000 metres of kerbs.
The total investment in Cycleway 9 to date is £9.7m. Council monitoring of the previously constructed route through Chiswick shows a 47 per cent increase in cycling between 2021 and when this section was finished in 2023.
Figures previously released by TfL show that the number of cyclists using this section regularly exceeds 3,000 per day.
Councillor Katherine Dunne, Hounslow Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate, Environment and Transport, said: “We are delighted that Hounslow’s Cycleway 9 is continuing to grow.
“This latest section provides the same high-quality design as our previous projects and we hope it will be just as popular as the other sections of the route.
“Hounslow Council is committed to providing residents with greener and more sustainable travel options to encourage more people to leave their cars at home.
“We are doing this to help improve people’s health, reduce air pollution and to create a transport network that works for everyone.
“Cycleway 9 is a perfect example of this ambition in action because it shows us what can be achieved. I look forward to seeing many residents along this new section of Cycleway 9.”
Helen Cansick, TfL's Head of Healthy Streets Investment, said: "This is an exciting next step in the rollout of Cycleway 9, which will help more people across west London to safely access a growing network of high-quality Cycleways linking communities from Brentford to Ealing, Acton and Chiswick. Enabling more people to walk and cycle is vital to reducing congestion, improving air quality and giving Londoners more opportunities to travel actively to benefit their health. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the borough and the local community to shape the future of the route."
Tim Hurley, Divisional Director for Hounslow Highways, added: “We are immensely proud to be delivering such an integral project in our borough with our partners. Providing quality cycleways, roads and footpaths enables sustainable and safe transport for our residents and commuters in and out of Hounslow. Encouraging active travel, improving peoples’ health and the air quality is what we’re passionate about. We look forward to working closely with all involved in the next phase of this exciting project.”
To further celebrate the opening of this section of Cycleway 9, the partners are planning a special launch event on Friday, 20 September, which will include guide rides along the route.
Transport for London is currently seeking people’s views on the next exciting instalment of Cycleway 9, which will see a further extension of the route through Brentford to Syon Park (along Brentford High Street and London Road from Alexandra Road to Beech Avenue).
You can find out more about this and have your say at: https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/brentford-syon-park
This consultation closes on Monday, 9 September.
