The facts are undeniable. The evidence is comprehensive. The community has spoken with unprecedented clarity. Yet while Putney residents continue to suffer from what multiple surveys have confirmed is a traffic management disaster, officials continue to suggest more consultations and assessments rather than acknowledging what the data already shows: the Putney junction redesign has failed catastrophically.
Four major evidence-gathering exercises, spanning different political parties and community groups, have documented the same conclusion with remarkable consistency. From Conservative petitions to Liberal Democrat surveys, from community action groups to Putney.news Freedom of Information data, every piece of evidence points to the same inescapable truth: the current situation is unsustainable, and residents demand immediate action.
The time for assessment is over. The time for action is now.
Evidence Point One: The Conservative petition met with “scorn”
The first warning came in September 2024, when Conservative councillors delivered a petition signed by over 1,000 Putney residents. The petition demanded urgent action to address severe congestion caused by the council’s junction redesign scheme.
According to Councillor Ethan Brooks, who presented the petition to the council, the response was dismissive: “We brought you over a thousand signatures in just a few days. And what was the response? Scorn.”
The petition met all formal criteria for consideration under the council’s traffic and engineering policy. It was submitted while the works were ongoing, when intervention could have made a difference. Yet the council’s annual report later confirmed what residents already knew: the petition was formally investigated and then ignored.
The council’s position was that “no further action was needed” and that “existing traffic management measures were deemed sufficient.” The project proceeded exactly as planned, with no changes made to address residents’ concerns.
Two: Liberal Democrat data shows overwhelming impact
A comprehensive survey conducted by Wandsworth Liberal Democrats in November and December 2024 gathered 347 detailed responses from Thamesfield residents experiencing the roadworks and junction changes firsthand. The results paint a picture of a community under siege:
- 88% experienced high impact from the roadworks (rating 4-5 on a 5-point scale)
- 93% expressed high frustration with traffic in Putney generally (rating 4-5 on a 5-point scale)
- 85% were made late for appointments due to the roadworks
- The vast majority disagreed with the council’s claim of undertaking “a very high degree of planning”
The survey captured not just statistics but real human experiences. One resident wrote: “I love Putney but the traffic has gotten so bad that I’ve decided to move north of the river (to Parsons Green). It will save me so much time and money on my daily commute to work.”
Another detailed the cascade of problems: “Changes to traffic flow has increased traffic congestion & unnecessarily increased time for traffic to flow onto the bridge. Additional impacts include cars idling in long traffic queues, increased air quality & noise pollution & traffic using Felsham Rd as a cut through Road increasing traffic to a residential road and past a primary school.”
Three: The Putney Action Group’s damning verdict
The most comprehensive evidence came this summer when the Putney Action Group conducted the largest survey in recent Putney history, capturing the views of 1,371 residents. The results were devastating for the council:
- 86% gave the strongest negative response possible to the junction redesign
- Even cyclists were overwhelmingly unhappy with the new layout, despite cycling representing 36% of transport usage among respondents (roughly 500 people)
- Putney Bridge Road has overtaken Putney High Street as the most complained-about road – a fundamental shift that shows the problem has been displaced, not solved. Second was Lower Richmond Road.
- Healthcare access has been severely compromised, with residents missing hospital appointments due to traffic gridlock
The survey revealed the profound human cost of the policy failure:
“I missed a hospital appointment because the bus never got through on time.”
“I have to allow over an hour just to get across Putney Bridge for medical treatment. It’s exhausting and stressful.”
“My elderly mother no longer feels safe because buses terminate early when stuck in traffic, leaving her to walk home alone.”
Perhaps most tellingly: “Putney Bridge Road is now completely gridlocked… We can’t even leave our own road, because it has become a rat run for people trying to gain a few places in the traffic jam.”
Four: TfL’s own data exposes the truth
Freedom of Information requests from Putney.news have revealed a crucial fact: TfL and Wandsworth Council maintain constant, real-time monitoring of the Putney junction from every entry and exit point, generating comprehensive traffic data for both cars and buses.
Putney.news has obtained this data through FOI requests, and the results are damning. Transport for London’s own operational data shows that bus punctuality declined significantly across major routes serving the area after the junction redesign. And this is despite statistical manipulation where TfL claims to have run 20% more buses during the same period that three of the same routes became the most complained about in London.
The cumulative cost is enormous: the junction redesign is costing London bus passengers hundreds of thousands of hours annually – equivalent to dozens of full-time jobs worth of lost time.
This data provides concrete evidence that concerns about the junction aren’t merely local complaints. They’re backed up by TfL’s own monitoring systems showing a quantifiable decline in service reliability affecting thousands of daily passengers.
This isn’t resident perception or political opinion – it’s TfL’s own operational data. The council isn’t missing information; it possesses everything needed to draw immediate conclusions and implement solutions.
The only element not in public hands is access to the expensive traffic monitoring software that officials use to analyse this information. But both the comprehensive data and the analytical software already exist within TfL and the Council, available for immediate use.
This is no argument for more studies or assessments. The monitoring systems run 24/7, collecting data continuously, with analytical tools ready for use. Every rationale about needing more time or evidence is no more than a stalling tactic when the data already proves the junction redesign has failed.
The pattern: A democratic breakdown
What emerges from this comprehensive evidence is not just a traffic management failure, but a fundamental breakdown in local democracy. Four separate evidence-gathering exercises, representing different political perspectives and methodologies, have reached identical conclusions:
- The junction redesign has failed catastrophically
- The problems have spread beyond the original area
- All road users – including the intended beneficiaries – are worse off
- Residents feel ignored and betrayed by their representatives
As the Putney Action Group survey found, the relationship between residents and officials has reached breaking point. Survey organisers described officials as “out of touch” and pointed to “a pattern of inadequate consultation processes.”
One survey organiser noted: “Every meeting that has happened, people have been cut short, they haven’t allowed enough time for questions.”
The evidence is in: time for action
The evidence from these four comprehensive sources – representing Conservative, Liberal Democrat, independent community voices, and official council data – creates an unassailable case for immediate action.
What we need is a council workgroup – most likely a Task and Finish Group with the authority and mandate to:
- Acknowledge that the current junction design has failed
- Develop immediate mitigation measures
- Create a comprehensive plan for junction redesign based on actual traffic patterns, not theoretical models
- Establish meaningful community engagement that goes beyond box-ticking exercises
The evidence shows that thousands of residents across multiple surveys have documented the same problems with remarkable consistency. Council officials already have access to comprehensive data, detailed feedback, and clear proposals for change.
The question is no longer whether there is a problem. The question is whether our elected representatives will acknowledge this evidence and act on it, or continue to hide behind process and procedure while residents suffer.
The data is there. The tools exist. The evidence is overwhelming. The case is made. The time for action is now.
This analysis draws on data from the Wandsworth Liberal Democrat traffic survey (347 responses, November-December 2024), the Conservative petition and formal council motion (1,000+ signatures in September 2024, followed by Motion Paper No. 25-273 in July 2025), the Putney Action Group survey (1,371 responses, summer 2025), council annual reports, and Freedom of Information data.
