When Hammersmith Bridge was originally closed to motor traffic
in April 2019, I read that Stephen Cowan, leader of Hammersmith and Fulham council, had stated that the bridge would be repaired and restored to full working order.
Since then there has been little visible evidence of repairs being done. And now the bridge has been closed to pedestrians and cyclists as well. It is probably now almost as easy to get to Hammersmith from New York as it is from Barnes. It is an absolutely disgraceful situation. The management of such a strategically important piece of infrastructure should not have lain with a single local authority in the first place, and it should have been removed from Hammersmith and Fulham as soon as the bridge was originally closed.
Incidentally, funding for a temporary pedestrian bridge was supposed to have been agreed just prior to last December’s general election. So why was it not built? This would have helped mitigate what has now happened.
Trevor Dawson
Editor's reply
Dear Trevor
I can understand your frustration. You are right to say such a vital piece of transport infrastructure should never have been the responsibility of a single council. A full repair will cost up to £140m, money that neither Hammersmith and Fulham nor Transport for London — nor indeed the Government — has readily available in the current crisis. It is hard to see where even the £30m for a pedestrian crossing would come from. I fear that it will be some years before Barnes and Hammersmith are linked again.
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Affairs Editor
Rewear masks
I don’t understand why people throw away face masks and plastic gloves after one wearing. They wash and dry easily, I’ve done it 25 times and they show no signs of wearing out. There are constant complaints that they are tossed into the streets and add to pollution. Make your own or wash and rewear them.
Jenny Thomas
