Hammersmith Bridge Task Force to meet .. for first time in a year; lessons for Barnes from ideas for Richmond town centre; and why only law-abiding cyclists should cross Wandsworth
Noteworth stories from the last three weeks. Story 158
After a break for the Festive Fortnight, Bridged celebrated the New Year with a significant new proposal. Let’s create a new park - Castlenau Park.
This the fourth major proposal from Bridged, all focussed on the longer term: restoring river buses, renewing The Terrace, and making Hammersmith Bridge permanently car-free. There are more to come in 2026. Together they address the question behind this blog,
How do we live well in Barnes, during this climate emergency?
The trigger for creating this blog was the closure to cars of Hammersmith Bridge. Its future seems to lie with the Hammersmith Bridge Task Force. They are holding ‘their annual closed door meeting’. Whatever the agenda, this is about funding. it is worth repeating, restoring Hammersmith Bridge is not a priority for the UK Government or the Mayor of London and the other boroughs.
Bridged has argued before that, car-free or not, the political stalemate is the real problem. Others are asking the same question what, exactly, would it take for political leaders to end the theatre and make a decision? Nick Maini’s version is worth reading.
This is the latest weekly digest of stories and signals about future Barnes.
If the Bridge remains car-free — by necessity or by design — it should not mean ‘empty tarmac forever’. It should trigger a serious rethink of:
how people move, where they cross, what the public realm feels like, how local access works, and what that means for local trade.
That is the why Bridged is now championing Castlenau Park. Interesting then to read Richmond council’s review of Richmond town centre.
There will be more on this report later this month, for now read the summary and see how Barnes measures against the main themes:
Diversity of use on the High Street
Movement
Heritage and Identity
Public Space
Spaces for Young People
Culture, Leisure and Sport
These might not be the best themes by which to judge Barnes but they are useful.
The report made me realise although I do visit Richmond occasionally - at Christmas I was with family at the new Tower House restaurant, I tend to look north to Hammersmith and Westfields or West to Kensington and the West End. Credit to Richmond council for this report.
That was the year that was for the climate
The end of the year saw a rash of reviews across most topics, climate change amongst them. Bridged is not a specialist climate journal so chooses carefully what to highlight. Here the focus is on a select few data points and credible sources. One of those is Simon Clarke. His latest video report is as good as ever, showing mixture of good and bad news in 2025. Long at thirty minutes but the time spent will be well rewarded. I have also posted it to the Bridged YouTube channel along with other videos that might be of interest.
The Mayor still believes
Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London is still aiming for his ambitious target of achieving ‘net zero by 2030’ according to his deputy for business, Howard Dawber. He told the Centre for London conference that a positive ‘tipping point’ was being reached.
Key to hitting this target is shift in the use of sustainable transport - walking, cycling and public transport. The Mayor outlined his transport strategy in 2018. Since then progress has stalled. Analysis of the TfL Travel in London stats suggests there has been no meaningful movement towards the Mayor’s target of 80 per cent of trips being made by ‘sustainable’ modes.
Walking remains the most important form of transportation. Increase the trips made on foot and the distance travelled and the 80% target for 2041 is attainable. Which is why it was striking to learn that the Mayor controls only a small fraction of London’s pavements. Even so, the London Assembly thinks the Mayor can do better, and has asked whether London can become the ‘world’s most walkable city’.
Meanwhile, cycling has popped up in news feeds and on social networks in the last fortnight, not as joy but as grievance.
The backlash against e-bike firms over poor parking is growing. Islington council has announced that it’s considering banning Lime and Forest from operating in the borough if they don’t get to grips with worsening parking. The BBC spoke to the local authority about their specific demands.
Wandsworth Council is fining speeding cyclists by using a speed gun in Tooting Common. This story by London Centric makes the point that Wandsworth is competing with Kensington & Chelsea council to be London’s most anti-cycling borough.
Brompton sales are down becase The Times says of London’s growing use of Lime bikes.
Bridged wants Barnes to gain another form of public transport by 2050 - river buses, serviced by a restored Barnes Pier. So it is worth watching the next piece of Thames infrastructure as it inches forward. Putney Pier is now approaching the final stages of planning.
We need to talk about cars
Bridged supports a shift away from private cars not only because it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, but because it enables a different Barnes possible. A place designed for all people, not simply drivers.
Shared cars will have a role to play in this future. There’s continued anguish over the demise of the UK’s main provider, Zipcar. Another form of shared cars, self0-driving taxis start trials in London this year but you wont see them in Barnes.
The strangest story about cars featured in Tom Whitwell’s annual post, 52 Things I Learned This Year, 2025 edition. Number 33 read,
The serial killer epidemic in 1970–80s US may have been caused by lead fumes from cars and factories, and solved by environmental regulations.
Bridged has been critical of cars since launch but this seemed a stretch. Having read a piece in the London Review of Books by James Lasdun on Caroline Fraser’s book Murderland, the idea is not so far fetched.
Not a video nasty
This video is much less scary. Richmond council explain what happens to the food waste you put out in the green bins. Incidentally, the UK is finally going to standardise the collection of waste and recycling. As of March 31, 2026, Richmond’s four bin solution will look at lot like the national norm. The aim is higher recycling rates and, ideally, fewer excuses.
A pre-Christmas cupboard clear-out produced a depressing pile of small electrical items — broken hairdryers and the like — not repairable, and not worth pretending otherwise. Off they went to the Richmond pink recycling bin. An excellent service.
No, I didnt put attempt to recycle my e-bike.