That was the week that was
Story 152
Welcome to Bridged2050: ideas for living well in a climate-ready Barnes.
Something other than transport this week. I returned to the topic at the heart of this blog - climate. In particular how it will affect Barnes. The Met. Office’s guide to the outlook over the next few decades is helpful but sobering. I will write more about this but it was another reminder that Barnes like all Brits are more concerned about water than heat. And that is increasingly wrong.
Over the summer I started to develop my Manifesto for Barnes: a growing collection of ideas that together make sure Barnes is an ever better place to live, work, play and belong by 2050. I add new things on a regular basis and return to update refine older ideas. This week more on a new pedestrian crossing outside Essex House. This is not original thinking but it would step towards a pedestrian-first Barnes.
Side-road zebras
Bridged has long argued the case for side-road zebras. Richmond officers recently said they couldn’t progress them because Transport for London no longer funds non-standard features.
Maybe the transport planning community is catching up with the evidence?
Westminster council has published its review of these simpler crossings. In short, they work. Whereas drivers exiting side roads typically tend not to give way despite the Highway code, with a side-road zebra in place drivers stopped 80% of the time. And all those benefits for about £20,000 compared with £60,000 to £120,000 for a traditional zebra. Cheaper crossings could be mean more crossings making walking and cycling seamless and driving a bit more frictional. Westminster is asking for the other 32 boroughs to support this initiative. Richmond council: your move.
Wales isn’t waiting. It is drafting legislation to allow these crossings on 20mph side roads.
No more Zipcars
It is disappointing to see Zipcar shutting down in London at the end of December. They offer thousands of cars and vans across the city that could be rented off the street for between £6 and £15 per hour including fuel, insurance, and breakdown cover, and all unlocked through a phone app. Users are billed according to the time used, as well as the mileage if they went a long distance. London Centric explains why this has happened.
Car-sharing should be part of London’s long-term transport mix, doing for cars what Lime and Forest do for cyclists. If you want a glimpse of where this could head, look to Berlin, Germany. Shared cars mean fewer cars, quicker journeys for the drivers who remain, and neighbourhoods where walking and cycling feel more natural, safe and social. From January 2026, Richmond will have just one provider left: Enterprise.
Bridged doesn’t like SUVs
BBC published an in depth report about one of my bugbears - car spreading. Did I mention I don’t like SUVs in areas like ours? The Liberal Democrats have learnt to love them.
Bridged (probably) likes these
This story broke whilst I was away from Barnes. The 22 historic lanterns of Hammersmith Bridge have been restored. First installed in 1887 as gas lamps, FulhamSW6.com reports the lanterns
have been carefully restored and upgraded with modern, energy-efficient LED lighting.
The result is a glow that is both brighter and greener — the new system is 56% more efficient than before — while retaining the bridge’s iconic Victorian character.
There’s been many positive comments on social media and WhatsApp groups. I am looking forward to seeing them for myself.
BCA Travel Barnes and then Mr Blobby
The Travel Barnes group, part of Barnes Community Association met during the week. (My earlier disclosure stands: I am a member.). As things become public I will share them. Discussions included two live projects with petitions. The Mill Hill Road petition, which Bridged supports, for a safer crossign to Barnes train station has over 2,500 signatures.
Meanwhile the petition to rid the High Street and The Terrace continues to gather names. The Terrace figures prominently in how Bridged sees the future of Barnes so supports this initative.
Co-incidentally earlier in the week I was given Liberal Democrat. Encouragingly, it backed the HGV petition. Less helpfully, it didn’t explain how to sign it. Given that other petitions on the leaflet included clear instructions, the omission undermined their support.
To sign the HGV petition, you must be a Richmond resident with an online council account, the same one used for waste bookings and planning applications. Once logged in, you can access the petition here. As of 6 December 2025, there were 207 online signatures, with many more collected offline.
As the end of the meeting, I stepped out of Rose House and found this waiting
Mr Blobby? Why? Maybe this is just me. Not sure about this.
At least he was in Barnes for the big day. I was away and so was another Barnes stalwart but for the best possible reason.