Council Promises Tweaks to Putney Bridge Road Layout

Say changes to light phases and synchronisation should improve traffic flow

Changes aimed to make junction easier to use for cyclists and pedestrians. Picture: Wandsworth Council

July 25, 2025

Wandsworth Council has responded to criticism of the performance of the new road layout at the junction close to Putney Bridge by saying further refinement is planned.

Having rejected a motion by the Conservative opposition to scrap the changes that were put in place last December, it now claims that these tweaks will boost traffic flow at the junction.

A request has been made to Transport for London to improve light synchronisation with a view to enabling vehicles waiting in the middle of the junction (turning from Putney Bridge Road to the bridge) to clear more easily during each cycle. It is hoped these changes will be implemented in the autumn.

The council says it is also continuing to explore further changes to make the most of all available space in the junction. These options are being modelled now using updated data and will only be introduced this coming winter if they’re proven to help.

There is also an ongoing review with TfL into bus stop locations and bus driver change over points where changes could free up space on the High Street and further reduce congestion. Increased enforcement action by our traffic wardens to stop unauthorised loading on Putney High Street that blocks traffic.

Conservative councillor James Jeffreys has said these changes “won’t touch the sides” and that the junction was an “obvious catastrophe”.

These changes would come on top of existing enhancements which the council says have improved the operation of the junction. In spring 2025, TfL installed sensors which linked the traffic lights to TfL’s control room and helped optimise the light cycles at the two junctions: Putney High Street with Putney Bridge Road, and Putney Bridge Road with Lower Richmond Road.

The original design extended the westbound bus lane hours from 7am to 7pm to help speed up buses and make cycling along Putney Bridge Road safer as well as updating the lane layout on Putney High Street and Lower Richmond Road to encourage the use of two lanes of traffic. The works involved removing some pedestrian islands at the junction and making others bigger to allow people to cross in fewer stages, introducing a segregated northbound cycle lane up to the bridge and installing new traffic lights to allow cyclists to cross a few seconds before vehicles behind. The main phase of the works was carried out from September to December last year.

At a council meeting earlier this month the Conservatives claimed that the new layout was detrimental to all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians and had been implemented without updated road modelling. As a result, they said that it was exacerbating Putney’s traffic problems.

Jenny Yates, Cabinet Member for Transport, said, “The new junction layout was approved by TfL after they thoroughly checked the traffic modelling. Now that the works are complete, we’re gathering new data to make sure everything’s performing as it should.

“We also know other nearby projects, like TfL’s works on Battersea Bridge Road, are affecting traffic, but things should ease over the summer holidays when roads are typically quieter and when the Battersea Bridge Road works complete which should be in October. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to try and improve traffic flows.

“Air quality in Putney continues to improve year on year, thanks to a combination of cleaner vehicles, targeted policies, and ongoing investment in greener transport.”