Westfield's weekend rush-hourFelix Allen10.11.08WESTFIELD shopping centre is causing a seven-day rush hour with huge traffic jams across west London, residents claimed today. Retail-to-tail: traffic leaving Westfield shopping centre on the left merges with the West Cross Route jamming the four-lane southbound carriageway Roads surrounding the 23-acre mall were in chaos last night with up to mile-long tailbacks on major routes out of London, despite a £200million upgrade to the local transport infrastructure.Motorists complained of half-hour queues to travel just a few hundred yards, while those on public transport faced delays as buses struggled to get through the traffic jams.Shepherd's Bush residents claimed local roads turned into car parks at the weekend and the area had become another Oxford Street.Worst hit was the West Cross Route as thousands of shoppers left the Westfield car park, jamming the four-lane southbound carriageway. Shepherd's Bush Green, Wood Lane and Holland Park Avenue were also affected, with traffic stationary for long periods of time.The problems were made worse by emergency roadworks on the A40 northern roundabout, just north of the new £1.7billion shopping centre, which knocked out one of the lanes.The problems came despite the new Wood Lane Tube station, a new overground link at Shepherd's Bush and the redevelopment of Shepherd's Bush Central line station.Transport for London had predicted 60 per cent of Westfield's shoppers would come by public transport. But Shepherd's Bush resident and mother-of-two Sarah Prentiss, 37, said: "There's a massive increase in traffic at the weekends. It's the weekday rush hour, seven days a week."Motorist Shelley Patrick, from Fulham, said the situation was ridiculous: "It'll take me an hour to get to Fulham. I wouldn't have come if I'd known."Street cleaner Abdelkader Maallem, 45, said: "Before Westfield opened it was much quieter on Sundays. Now it's like Oxford Street. The traffic is crazy." Others said they would ditch the cars and use public transport.Stephen White, 40, who had taken his three children shopping, said: "Getting into the car park was a piece of cake. Getting out is turning into a nightmare. All the cars are joining roads that are already busy. If we ever come here again I will get the Tube."Tube stations coped with the crowds, but bus passengers were badly affected. Kiz Ahmet waited nearly half an hour for a 237 to Brentford, which normally comes every 12 minutes. The 22-year-old student said: "This traffic is mad. I've been waiting in the rain and I don't know how long it will take me to get home."Last week Hammersmith and Fulham council used emergency powers to change parking rules after residents complained that Westfield shoppers were parking in their streets.Transport for London said it would work with the council on the traffic problems. A spokesman said: "Due to unplanned roadworks on the A40 Northern Roundabout on Sunday there was congestion between 4pm and 7pm along the A3220 West Cross Route, close to Westfield's shopping centre. By 7.30pm traffic had returned to a smooth flow on both the A3220 and A40."While it appears many Westfield shoppers are getting to the area by public transport, motorists in west London should still be assured that TfL will continue to work closely with the borough to minimise any impact that the Westfield's development has on local traffic."
Fred Bray ● 6127d