Wandsworth Council officers have recommended spending £450,000 to move a pedestrian crossing on Putney Bridge that was only built in 2024, after problems emerged at the redesigned junction. The proposal is due before the council’s Transport Overview and Scrutiny Committee at 7:30pm tonight (24 September), with the cabinet due to decide on Monday 12 October — but nothing has been approved yet.
The officer recommendation would replace the current two-stage crossing with a three-stage crossing via two islands, shifting the crossing point to a new position. Left-turning traffic from Lower Richmond Road would get 42 seconds of green light instead of 25 seconds, giving turning traffic a bigger share of the signal cycle.
Crucially, the recommendation is just that — a recommendation. Any changes would also be subject to agreement from Transport for London, which has the final say over the junction.
The proposal caps a costly saga. The junction reportedly cost £835,000 to build in the first place; since then the council has reportedly spent £100,000 investigating the problems, and £250,000 of remedial measures were identified in November 2025. Add the latest £450,000 and the figures attached to the crossing saga pass £1.6 million.
Questions have been raised about the original design. The 2024 scheme was based on traffic counts from July 2021 and assumed Hammersmith Bridge would reopen in 2026 — an assumption baked into the modelling, but not, it seems, into reality.
TfL has reportedly told the council that the old-sized pedestrian islands “cannot be reinstated”, because smaller versions would not meet current design standards.
A Stage 4 road-safety audit had been promised for this month, but the paper going to councillors reportedly does not state whether it has actually happened. The drawing attached to the proposals is marked draft, and no construction date, published modelling or performance targets have been included.
With boroughs across the capital under pressure to justify capital spending — Hackney’s leadership set out strict budget limits at an anti-austerity summit this week — the Putney scheme is likely to face sharp scrutiny over value for money.
Tonight’s scrutiny committee can question and challenge the plans, but the decision rests with the cabinet on 12 October. Even then, the scheme cannot go ahead without TfL’s agreement — and officers, councillors and the transport authority are all a long way from a done deal.
“Safety is our top priority and we are supporting Wandsworth Council as they develop proposals for changes at the Putney Bridge junction, including options for the pedestrian crossing. These proposals are being developed by the council, and any changes would need to be carefully assessed to ensure they work for everyone travelling through the area, including people walking, cycling, using public transport and travelling by road. We will continue to support the council as they consider their plans.”
— Transport for London spokesperson
TfL’s backing is being sought for a string of major schemes across the capital, including the long-planned Bakerloo line extension, which Southwark Council has recommitted to in its push for 100,000 homes.
What happens next depends on two hurdles. First, the cabinet must approve the recommendation on 12 October. Then TfL must agree the design. Only if both happen will a construction timetable emerge — and none has been published so far.
Reporting based on Putney.news.
