Consultations for 2000

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Traffic Management Schemes

proposed by Camden Council, and Camden Cycling Campaign's responses

Summary of Camden Traffic Management Proposals

For the year 2000.

As we get as many as 5 traffic management proposals or traffic orders each week, we have only listed those which we consider to be particularly notable; we have omitted minor schemes such as the provision of disabled parking bays, or the conversion of a residential parking bay to a pay and display, unless we believe it to be particularly contentious. Two dates preceed each proposal listed here: the first is the date it was dispatched by Camden Council or their consultants, and the second is the deadline by which responses should be received.

The first section of this page covers a summary of the traffic management proposals. Our detailed consultation response for the more significant of these schemes follows further down this page. Unless entitled with another organisation (eg 'JMP Consultants'), these are consultations undertaken directly by Camden Council. If you want a map of an area below, try the UK Street Map web site.

Paul Gasson, Camden Cycling Campaign Coordinator.

13/12/00 & 12/1/01: Frognal Way Oscar Faber
Consultants Oscar Faber are carrying out a study on behalf of the council to 'restrict the use of Frognal Way to frontagers motor vehicles and essential service traffic to reduce obstructive parking and improve accessibility'. It is intended that pedestrians and cyclists will have unrestricted use of the road, which will probably have some type of barrier or gate installed. We supported the principal of a road closure with the proviso that cycle and pedestrian access should be well designed and minimises the risk of obstruction by parked vehicles.
12/00 & 19/2/01: Changing Camden Council
The council lost its battle with the government over Town Hall reforms, and now has to replace the current traditional committee system with one of 3 government imposed options on how the council will be run in future. The three options it is consulting on are:
- A) A Leader chosen by all elected councillors and supported by an Executive made up of a small number of elected councillors; or
- B) a new-style Mayor elected directly by local people and supported by an Executive made up of a small number of elected councillors; or
- C) a new-style Mayor elected directly by local people and supported by an appointed Council Manager.
You may be wondering why we are bothering over this consultation as it does not appear to affect cyclists much. However the impact on the say we have over what the council does to encourage cycling could be profoundly damaging. The reason for this is that all 3 options involve the loss of a large number of the existing council committees, and the concentration of decision making to a small number of people. Also, it is not clear what will happen to the invaluable Cyclists & Pedestrians Liaison Group; it could easily be abolished.

The council's preferred option is A, which is the one which they believe offers the best potential to maintain accountability and address concerns arising from the previous consulation on reforms.
20/11/00 & 22/12/00: Bayham Street/Crowndale Road Pedestrian Crossings
The council is consulting on a new 3-way zebra crossing at the southern end of Bayham Street with its junction of Crowndale Road.

The crossings will run from each side of the existing triangular island, and will clearly be a great improvement for pedestrians at this currently awkward location. Apart from a row of new bollards planned along a stretch of already narrow pavement, we think the Campaign should welcome this new crossing.

We supported this proposal.
20/11/00 &10/12/00: Grafton Road & Malden Road Traffic Order for cushions & tables
We spotted a traffic order for junction tables and speed cushions which are due to be constructed shortly in Malden Road and Grafton Road. As this is not a formal consultation we are unlikely to be able to make anything other than minor changes. The plans for the scheme also feature some cycle facilities.

In Grafton Road the measures are:
- a speed table around 70 metres south of the Vicars Road junction
- speed cushions along the length of Grafton Road at 50 - 70 metre intervals
- An advance stop line at the Prince of Wales Road junction.
The measures for Malden Road, which are generally welcome, include:
- Advisory cycle lanes along Malden Road (which is a London Cycle Network route)
- Advance stop line for the southbound Malden Road arm of its junction with Prince of Wales Road.
- Speed tables across junctions with Marsden Street, Queen's Crescent and Grafton Terrace.
- Speed cushions around 50 metres north of the Rhyl Street junction, and around 30 metres on either side of the Haverstock Road junction.
Our formal response to this scheme is here.
15/11/00 & 2/12/00: Kilburn Priory, Camden Square, & East Kentish Town CPZ Reviews
The council is reviewing the controlled parking zones (CPZs) for the above areas. The key questions are as follows:
- What effect have the parking controls had on parking parking in the area?
- Yellow lines were introduced on all junctions as part of controls. What effect have these had on:
  - pedestrian safety when crossing the road?
  - vehicle safety when manoeuvring at junctions?
- Do you think the level of parking enforcement is too little, about right, or too much?
- Should the weekday or weekend hours of operation be changed?
- Do you have any suggestions on parking layout or other changes?
Our formal reponses as follows
- Camden Square: see here
- East Kentish Town: see here
- Kilburn Priory: We proposed that parking controls be introduced on Saturdays from 08:30 - 18:30 (less signage clutter due to smaller signs if hours the same as weekdays). We also pointed out that the existing single yellow lines only prevent parking around junctions during CPZ operational hours, so to improve pedestrian & vehicle safety we recommended double yellow lines around all junctions for a minimum of 5 metres from each corner.
2/11/00: Montague Place Cycle Track (Traffic Order)
Following our receipt of a traffic order for a westbound cycle track running along Montague Place, at our request the council mailed us their detailed designs. We had a few comments which are detailed here.
20/10/00 & 8/11/00: Kilburn/Fortune Green/South Hampstead: Proposed CPZs
The council is consulting on separate controlled parking zones for:
- Kilburn
- Fortune Green & West End
- Swiss Cottage/South Hampstead
A map showing each of the CPZ areas (labelled as A, B & C) and street names covered can be found on our site here.

Common safety problems we are used to seeing in these consultations is parking bays on both sides of narrow roads, bays too close to junction corners, and positioning of signage on pavements so it causes an obstruction to pedestrian flow. However, this is the opportunity for us to lobby for no parking where we think there is currently a safety issue..

See our responses here.
17/10/00 (no response deadline given): West Kentish Town CPZ amendments
The council is consulting on what changes should be made, a few months after the introduction of controlled parking the West Kentish Town area. Key questions are should more double yellow lines be installed, should the parking hours be changed, should controls be extended to the weekend, is the level of parking enforcement adequate?

Our response proposed the introduction of parking controls on Saturdays, and recommended that double yellow lines are installed at the following locations:
- Wherever there is a speed table; the double yellow lines should run for the whole length of the table. Allowing parking on tables gives a very mixed message to pedestrians and other road users, and undermines the effectiveness of tables. We believe that the introduction of double yellow lines on tables located at junctions is absolutely essential.
- At all junctions in Queens Crescent between (and including) Grafton Road and Malden Road, due to the high pedestrian flows and the importance of encouraging further pedestrian journeys to this local shopping centre.
- At all junctions in Malden Road and Prince of Wales Road as these will not be subject to a 20mph speed limit, this pedestrians are far more vulnerable along these roads.
- At all road junctions where speed cushions (as opposed to humps or tables) are used to calm traffic (eg Grafton Road). The reason for this is that speed cushions do not reduce the speeds of wide wheelbase vehicles (such as skip lorries, HGVs, vans) at all, and are a less effective speed reduction measure for remaining classes of motor vehicles. Thus pedestrians and motor vehicles require the best possible sight lines.
5/10/00 & 3/11/00: Belsize & Mansfield Areas Traffic Management Measures
The area covered is huge, stretching from Adelaide Road across Belsize Park to Mansfield Road; there is no doubt that these planned measures will have a considerable impact on traffic speed reduction. The proposals are:
1. Adelaide Road: 7 sets of pavement buildouts and pedestrian refuges (ie traffic islands in centre of road), and a pelican crossing with a footway buildout (just to the west of the Merton Rise jct.)
2. Winchester Road (a London Cycle Network route): Zebra Crossing opposite the Community Centre (to the south of Fellows Road jct).
3. Fellows Road (to the west of Primrose Hill Road): 9 sets of speed cushions.
4. Fellows Road (to the east of Primrose Hill Road) & Steeles Road: 6 sets of speed humps.
5. Eton Avenue (a London Cycle Network route): 9 sets of speed cushions.
6. Crossfield Road: junction entry treatments at each end of the road (comprising a raised table), and a raised table across the Adamson Road/Crossfield Road junction.
7. Belsize Park Gardens (a London Cycle Network route): 9 sets of road humps.
8. England's Lane:
  - Zebra crossing in England's Lane next to the Primrose Hill Road/Belsize Park Gardens ;
  - Zebra crossing in Belsize Park Gardens next to the /Eton Avenue junction (ie both zebras are outside the Washington pub)
  - Raised junction table for the Belsize Park Gardens/Eton Avenue junction
  - Moving the bus stops closer to the Englands Lane shops, and creating pavement build outs called 'bus boarders' (similar to the ones in Haverstock Hill just to the north of Belsize park tube station.
  - Double yellow lines around junction corners.
  - a considerable number of changes to parking bays
9. Primrose Gardens: Either a road closure at north end of Primrose Gardens (at its junction with Belsize Grove), or combined speed tables and pavement buildouts mid way along Primrose Gardens on both halves of the roads.
10. Belsize Avenue/Belsize Park/Buckland Crescent:
  - Belsize Park: 6 sets of speed cushions
  - Buckland Crescent: 3 sets of speed cushions
  - Belsize Avenue: 5 sets of speed cushions
  - Buckland Crescent/Lancaster Grove: raised table at junction
  - Belsize Avenue/Belsize Park/Belsize Park Gardens/Belsize Terrace: raised table at junction with new zebra crossing on Belsize Park side of table
11. Haverstock Hill (a London Cycle Network route): Pavement buildouts on both sides of road and a pedestrian refuge (ie traffic island in centre of road) just to the north of Downside Crescent junction; the pavement buildout on the east side of Haverstock Hill would be a half width buildout (ie around 1 metre wide) and would be extended back north to the bus stop to act as a 'bus boarder'.
12. Parkhill Road (a Local Cycle Network route): 9 sets of speed cushions.
13. Downside Crescent: 3 sets of speed humps.
14. Lawn Road: 6 sets of speed humps
15. Agincourt Road (a Local Cycle Network route): Pelican crossing just to the west of the Cressy Road junction.
16. Savernake Road: speed table opposite access to Heath, removal of existing central island.
See our full response here.
5/10/00 & 2/11/00: Fortess Road/Highgate Road/Dartmouth Park Hill: 20 mph Zone
The council is planning to introduce a 20 mph zone under the Safe Routes to School programme for the area enclosed by the above roads near Tufnell Park; this 20mph zone will be reinforced by a number of traffic calming measures. It also plans some additional measures to the north of the zone along part of Dartmouth Park Hill.
Our main concern is over aspects of the scheme which involve narrowing the road width; 'pinching' the carriageway width can cause problems by forcing cyclists away from the kerb into the path of motor vehicles. However insufficient detail is given (due to the preliminary nature of this consultation) for us to do any more than raise the need for cycle safety to be carefully considered.

See our full response here.
12/9/00 & 10/10/00: West Kentish Town 20 mph Zone
Camden is consulting on the measures required to implement the West Kentish Town 20mph zone; this area is bounded by Prince of Wales Road, Malden Road, Mansfield Road, Grafton Road, Spring Place, Holmes Road & Kentish Town Road.

The proposals comprise:
- around 40 speed humps for virtually all residential roads within the area (ie nothing for the boundary roads except Grafton Road & Holmes Road),
- speed cusions for the lower half of Weedington Road
- Two sets of speed cushions, kerb build-outs and central traffic islands in Talacre Road (this is a London Cycle Network route)
- 'junction entry' treatments (which we suspect will not be raised tables) for all side roads leading into the zone,
- raised tables at Oak Village/Lamble St, and in Willies Road on both sides of its junction with Inkerman Road, and
- a new central island in Anglers Lane at its junction with Prince of Wales Road.
Generally this looks a well thought out scheme with an unusual number of physical measures; it will be interesting to see how many are left after local traders kick up the inevitable fuss. Some Campaign members may not be happy with the speed cushion/central island design in Talacre Road, and we'll (again) suggest a contraflow cycle plug (ie cycle exemption to the no entry) in Inkerman Road at its junction with Grafton Road.

See our formal response here.
4/9/00 & 4/10/00: East Hampstead Experimental Traffic Calming Scheme Review
The council is assessing the experimental measures introduced last September in the area to the east of Hampstead High Street/Rosslyn Hill, which were:
1. Back Lane/Heath Street - No right turn into Heath Street.
2. Willow Road/New End Sq.I Well Walk/Gayton Road - One way system at junction and 'No Entry'.
3. Hampstead Sq./Cannon Place/Elm Row - Closure of Hampstead Sq. from Cannon Place.
4. East Heath Road/Holford Road - No left turn into East Heath Road.
5. Holford Road - 'No Entry' travelling north, in its original position.
6. Holford Road - 'No Entry' travelling north, in its present position.
7. Christchurch Hill - One way travelling north between Well Road and Well Walk.
8. Christchurch Hill - One way travelling south between Well Walk and Willow Road.
9. Cannons Lane - One way travelling south.
10. Keats Grove - One way travelling west between Downshire Hill and Heath Hurst Road.
The questions asked for each of the above measures are:
1. Do you believe traffic has been diverted from residential streets by any of the above measures?
2. Do you believe that traffic speeds have been reduced by the measures?
3. Should this part of the scheme remain?
4/10/00: No one from the Campaign has expressed any views on this scheme, so we did not respond to it.
11/9/00 & 9/10/00: Laystall Street Safe Routes to School
The council plans to the following pedestrian & cycle improvements to Laystall Street, which runs between Roseberry Avenue and Mount Pleasant.
- Widening pavement outside Christopher Hatton School
- Moving lamp posts to rear of pavement
- installing flat topped humps at each end of the street (and removing existing round top humps)
- putting in 'keep clear' zig-zag markings outside the school
- installing cycle stands (number of stands & location not specified)
- new school warning signs
- short section of guard railing outside school (presumably opposite the entrance)
9/10/00: No one from the Campaign has expressed any views on this scheme, so we did not respond to it.
July 2000 & 22/9/00: Congestion Charging Consultation by the Greater London Authority (GLA)
Ken Livingstone has launched the GLA's consultation document on congestion charging, which can be read (and dowloaded) at http://www.london.gov.uk/.

There are a number of specific questions, such as
- Is the Inner Ring Road, both north and south of the Thames, (bounded by Marylebone Road, Euston Road, Pentonville Road, Tower Bridge, Elephant and Castle, Vauxhall Bridge, Victoria and Hyde Park Corner) the correct boundary for a central London congestion charging scheme?
- a £5 charge for cars, and £15 for heavy lorries would raise around £200m per year and result in an estimated 12% reduction in traffic levels - what should other classes of vehicle have to pay?
- should the charging period be 7am - 7pm Mon - Fri?
- should motorcycles, or residents living within the congestion area, pay a reduced rate for entering the cordon area?
- what are the priorities for spending the proceeds (which has to be on improving transport)
See our response here.
1/7/00 & 15/9/00: Draft Community Strategy
This key document will apparently replace the current 'Camden Plan' as the over-arching startegy document for the borough. It is thus of critical importance that it adequately addresses the concerns of pedestrians and cyclists, as well as tackling the fundamental issues relating to rising motor vehicle use.

The strategy has a number of worthy sections: 'A Better Place to Live', 'A Camden with Excellent Services', 'An Ecomically Successful Camden', and 'A Fairer Camden - Tackling Social Exclusion'.

The last section 'An Attractive and Environmentally Friendly Camden' includes targets for a 'Brighter Camden', a 'Cleaner Environment', and with the last page being devoted to a 'Greener Environment' section right at the end of the document. Whilst it has a few worthy sounding aims, the only measureable transport related targets are the 'aim' to doubling cycle use by 2002, ensuring all pedestrian crossings have dropped kerbs by April 2001, and completing pedestrian audits on major 'pedestrian street' per year in order to make the streets safer and more pleasant. Amazingly the only mention of air pollution is :"We will work with the new Mayor for London to develop policies to reduce vehicle traffic and, in particular, restrict polluting vehicles".

Our response can be found here.
20/7/00 & 14/8/00: Interim Review of East Kentish Town CPZ
Following concerns expresed by local traders, the council is consulting on an interim review of the Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) from the lower section of Highgate Road & Kentish Town Road eastwards; a full review will be undertaken in the autumn.

The council is proposing the following changes:
- Conversion of single yellow lines to Pay & Display bays opposite 66 Highgate Rd along to the far side of the junction with Lady Somerset Road.
- Conversion of around 10-12 residents bays to also allow Pay & Display parking
- Conversion of around 25 residents bays in Islip Street to also allow Pay & Display parking
- Conversion of around 30 residents bays (all the ones west of Hammond Street) in Caversham Road to also allow Pay & Display parking.
- Addition of 2 new pay & display bays in Caversham Road next to the Kentish Town Road junction.
- Conversion of around 30 residents bays (all the ones west of Hammond Street) in Gaisford Street to also allow Pay & Display parking.
- Conversion of around 35 residents bays (all the ones west of Patshull Place) in Patshull Road to also allow Pay & Display parking.
- Creation of 10-15 Pay & Display bays in Sandall Road (at the Camden Road end).
- The addition of a loading bay at the southern end of Lady Somerset Road (on the north side).
Comment: We are unsure of the exact numbers of bays involved as the consultation material does not give the bay lengths. However this will inevitably have a huge impact on the surrounding roads in terms of generating many additional traffic movements by shoppers, and will surely adversely impact the recent London Bus Priority Network changes to Kentish Town Road, and of course make life even more dangerous for cyclists. See our final response here.
19/7/00 & 16/8/00: Church Row (NW3) Traffic Calming
With the aim of reducing traffic volumes (700 - 1,000 vehicles per hour at peak times) and/or speeds (upto 40 mph), the council is proposing one of 6 options (all which retain unrestricted cycle access):
1. Closure of road east of Holly Walk
2. Banned right turn from Church Row into Heath Street
3. Banned left turns from From Frognal, frognal Gardens & Holly Walk into Church Row
4. Time restricted entry (using just signs) between Heath Street and Frognal Mon - Fri 06:30 - 09:30 & 15:00 - 18:00
5. Time restricted entry as above but enforced via 'automatic rising bollards' installed to east of Holly Walk
6. Two speed humps and one cushion in Church Row
7. The last option is 'do nothing'.
The Campaign's initial view is that option 1 (road closure) is the best. Our final response here.
3/7/00 & 31/7/00: Amendments to Belsize CPZ
A huge list of changes to parking bays in the Belsize Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) with main ones as follows:
1. Frognal: Single yellow line converted to 1 Pay & Display bay.
2. Eton Villas: Conversion of approx 6 Residents bays to Pay & Display.
3. Perceval Avenue: relocate some Residents bays and provide 4 additional Residents bays.
4. Buckland Crescent: Convert some single yellow lines to double yellow lines.
5. Fellows Road: Convert approx 5 Residents bays to Pay & Display. Convert single yellow line to 1 Residents bay.
6. Upper Park Road: Conversion of single yellow line to create 3 Pay & Display bays
7. Haverstock Hill: Conversion of single yellow line to create 3 Pay & Display bays. Convert single yellow line to 7 Residents/Business bays.
8. Bridge Approach: Conversion of 50 metres (35 on east side and 15 on west) to 11 Residents Bays. Conversion of 10 metres of single yellow line to double yellow line.
9. Maresfield Gardens: Convert 5 Residents bays to Pay & Display.
10. Courthope Road: Convert 4 metres of single yellow line to Motorcycle bay.
11. Howitt Road: Convert 13 metres of single yellow line to double yellow line. Convert single yellow line to 3 Pay & Display bays.
12. Eton Avenue: Convert single yellow line to 3 Pay & Display bays. Convert 4 metres of single yellow line to Motorcycle bay.
13. Belsize Grove: shuffle around bay usage, and create one new Residents bay. Convert single yellow line to create 1 Residents bay and 3 metres of Motorcycle bay.
14. Nutley Terrace: Convert single yellow line to 5 Residents bays.
15. Glenloch Road: Convert residents bays & single yellow line to 3 Pay & Display bays.
16. Mackeson Road: Convert 3 metres of single yellow line to Motorcycle bay.
17. Steeles Road: Convert 15 metres of yellow line to 3 Pay & Display bays.
18. Roderick Road: Convert single yellow line to 1 Residents bay.
19. Downside Crescent: Convert single yellow line to create 2 Residents bays
20. Buckland Crescent: Convert 45 metres of double yellow line to 9 Residents bays.
21. College Crescent: Convert single yellow line to double yellow line.
22. Belsize Square: Convert 2 metres of single yellow line to Motorcycle bay.
23. Parkhill Road: Convert 8 metres of Residents bays to single yellow line.
24. Tasker Road: relocate the 2 lost Residents bays (from Parkhill Road).
25. Belsize Crescent: Convert single yellow line to 3 Residents/Business bays.
26. Belsize Lane: Convert single yellow line to 8 Residents/Business bays.
27. South End Road: Convert 7 metres of double yellow line to loading bay. Convert 3 Pay & Display bays to 15 metre loading bay.
28. Belsize Park: Convert 4 metres of residents bay (approx 1 car) to Motorcycle bay.
See our full response here.
26/6/00 & 28/7/00: Somers Town Safe Routes to Schools
The council is currently consulting on plans to make the Somers Town area a 20 mph zone, and the installation of speed humps, cushions and 'junction treatments' at key locations. The area in question is bounded by Euston Road, Midland Road, Pancras Way, Crowndale Road, Oakley Square and Eversholt Street. Camden's most important north/south cycle route runs through this area, so these proposals need to be carefully scrutinised.
- Speed cushions are proposed for Ossulston Street & Purchese Street
- Speed humps are planned for Charrington Street, the northern end of Chalton Street, the western end of Polygon Road, Werrington Street and Brill Place.
- Junction treatments (in the form of tables raised to pavement height across the junction) for all of the junctions in Polygon Road, both ends of Chenies Place, and at the Eversholt Street ends of Cranleigh Street, Aldenham Street & Polygon Road.
- Kerb buildouts (to create 'pinch' points) in Werrington Street and Charrington Street.
- A puffin crossing of Eversholt Street just to the north of the Aldenham Street junction.
See our full response here.
11/5/00 & 11/6/00: Gloucester Avenue/Regents Park Road & Fitzroy Road/Chalcot Road
There are 3 separate locations as part of this consultation.
1. The addition of a pedestrian refuge in Fitroy Road on the southern side of the junction with Chalcot Road, with the relocation of the nearby existing motorcycle bay to Fitroy Road on the northern side of the junction.
2. A new pedestrian refuge in Gloucester Avenue at its junction with Regents Park Road (this is the northern end of next to the pedestrian/cycle bridge over the railway into Adelaide Road).
3. Improvements to the right turn for cyclists travelling north along Regents Park Road and turning right through the 'no-entry plug' into Gloucester Avenue.
It is this 3rd part of the scheme which is of most interest to cyclists. Whilst a worthy attempt has been made to improve conditions for cyclists, it has clearly not been done by someone who has tried riding a bike along the current route!

Apart from the difficulty in getting into the centre of the road before making the right turn, which should be improved to some extent by thenew design, the other hazard which cyclists currently encounter as they enter Gloucester Avenue is a sharp left and right jink due to the kerb alignment. Unfortunately the redesigned scheme makes this even worse.

And there is a strong case for continuing the cycle lane (or at least cycle logo) markings along Gloucester Avenue so that pedestrians know to expect cyclists coming from the other direction, and so that motorists realise that it is not a one way street for all vehicles. Comments on the scheme gratefully received.

See our response which includes substantial redesign for the no entry plug here.
10/5/00 & 7/6/00: Seven Stations Link JMP Consultants
The public consultation on Camden's section of the segregated Seven Stations Link has now started, with a nicely designed glossy brochure. There will also be an exhibition of the proposals at St Pancras Library (in Camden Town Hall, Aryle St entrance) on Thursday 18th May (10.30 - 7pm), Friday 19th May (10.30 - 6pm), Saturday 20th May (10.30 - 5pm).

This is a flagship and state of the art scheme promoted by Camden Council, and takes the best from proven continental design; it deserves the full support of cyclists.
19/4/00 & 31/5/00: Report on Proposed Air Quality Management Areas
Following a detailed study of air pollution in Camden, the council has produced an excellent report which is now out for consultation. The council is proposing that around 2/3 of the borough become an Air Quality Management Area, including Camden Town, the rest of the borough to the south, Swiss Cottage, the Hampstead area between Rosslyn Hill, Heath Street & the Heath, plus smaller pockets around Kilburn, West Hampstead, Kentish Town Road & Fortess Road, and Chetwynd Road.

The only minor criticism in our response was as follows:
19/4/00 & 29/5/00: Camden Streetscape Design Manual
To its credit the council is planning a manual to set good standards of design and management of the borough's streets, and is consulting on its content. It is also organising walking tours for the 5 areas (Bloomsbury, Camden Town, Kentish Town & Highgate, Belsize and Hampstead, West Hampstead & Kilburn) from 8th - 12th May .

Questions are:
1. In order of priority which is most important when considering paving materials: a seemless/unbroken surface with little chance of tripping up, a non slippery surface, a surface which can be easily cleaned and maintained, the visual appearance?
2. What are your views on the use of ashphalt (£20/sq metre), standard paving (£20/sq metre) and York Stone (£77/sq metre) as paving materials?
3. The council is required to introduce tactile paving at all controlled pedestrian crossings to assist people who are blind or partially sighted. D you think the council should also introduce this paving at: all crossing points where the road has been raised to the level of the pavement, all other corssing points on major high streets where the pavement kerbs have been dropped?
4. Should street furniture (bollards, street seats, lamp posts etc) be painted grey or black? Should litter bins be grey or black.
5. In some town centres Camden has started to paint metal street furniture with special anti-flyposting paint (with a rough surface). Should the council use this paint in more town centres where fly posting is a problem?
6. Which type of litter bin should Camden used (4 options ranging from standard open bin (£70) through to the 'executive' version (£120) as seen outside the towh hall with cigarette compartment on the sides.
7. Should recyling bins be colour coded, or black?
14/4/00 & 26/5/00: King Henry's Road/Primrose Hill Road Kerb Buildout
Objections received from local residents over the recently constructed kerb buildout in Kings Henry's Road at its junction with Primrose Hill Road has led the council to consult over whether it should be removed or not. The council says that leaving the build out in place will prevent vehicles from illegally entering King Henry's Road through the no-entry. CCC responded saying that the buildout should stay.
19/4/00 & 17/5/00: Hatton Garden: Proposed Streetscaping Enhancements & Parking Amendments
It is good to see a coherent set of proposals from Camden which combine traffic management measures with major streetscaping to provide a coordinated set of pedestrian centred improvements to the area.

The main traffic calming elements are to introduce:
- Two new pedestrian crossing facilities across Hatton Garden at the junctions with Greville Street and St Cross Street;
- Raised speed tables with footway extensions along Hatton Garden at the junctions with Greville Street, St. Cross Street and Hatton Wall.
- Traffic calming along Hatton Garden, Greville Street and Saffron Hill
- Entry treatments into the area at all junctions from Farrington Road and Clerkenwell Road.
- Make northern end of Saffron Hill, north of junction with Hatton Wall one-way northbound.
- A traffic management order in Leather Lane to prohibit vehicles (except emergency vehicles) and introduce a pedestrianised street between the hours of 10.30am and 2.00pm Monday to Friday. This proposal aims to formalise the pedestrian and market activity in Leather Lane.
The main parking proposals include a total of10 additional market trader parking bays in Back Hill, Summers Street, Hatton Wall, Brooke Street & Portpool Lane, relocation of some residents' parking bays, and 1 additional loading bay in Greville Street.

We were consulted on the initial proposals 3 months ago, and unusually for Camden these days, our comments appear to have been totally ignored. We welcomed the proposals despite the absence of any facilities for (or even mention of) cyclists, but made the following points:
- Clerkenwell Road, Back Hill & Holborn are official cycle routes, and thus it is important that cyclists needs are considered. We suggest that mandatory cycle lanes could be marked along Clerkenwell Road.
- A key safety issue for cyclists to be considered is where pinch points are being narrowed, or new ones introduced. Combinations of traffic islands and parking or bus bays tend to cause particular hazards for cyclists, so their siting should be assessed with this in mind (eg Clerkenwell Road in the vicinity of the Back Hill junction).
- We note the one way exit from Saffron Hill into Clerkernwell Road. Has Camden assessed the usage by cyclists, and has it considered a no entry plug with a cycle bypass? We are concerned that if this short section of road is currently used by cyclists to gain access to Hatton Walk & Hatton garden, there could be considerable non-compliance of the no-entry by cyclists.
- A big omission is the absence of any cycle parking. We suggest a plentiful supply of sheffield stands along Leather Lane & Hatton Garden, which should help improve the economic vitality of the area. It may be appropriate to consider a different stand design to the standard Camden issue, in order that the cycle parking does not introduce too much of a utilitarian feel to the area. Perhaps the design sometimes used by Westminster (eg Broadwick St in Soho) would be more appropriate
24/3/00 & 24/4/00: Proposed Waiting Restrictions for Mill Lane
Camden is planning to put double yellow lines down in Mill Lane around the junctions of Fordwych Road, Westbere Road & Hillfield Road.
27/3/00 & 21/4/00: Belsize Area Traffic Study. The Project Centre
The council have followed up on the introduction on the Belsize Area Controlled Parking Zone with a large number of traffic calming proposals. The detailed measures are:
- A new pedestrian crossing in Winchester Road near the Community Centre
- Road Humps in Fellows Road and Steeles Road
- Speed cushions in Eton Avenue (humps not practical due to Fire Station in Lancaster Grove)
- New traffic islands and footway buildouts in Adelaide Road (these may prove problematic for cyclists depending on the road width remaining)
- The closure of Eton Road at Adelaide Road end (but presumably allowing cycles through)
- Junction entry treatments in Crossfield Road and a speed table at Crossfield Road/Adamson Road junction
- Road humps in Belsize Park Gardens
- Road closure between Belsize Park Gardens/Eton Avenue and Primrose Hill Road/England's Lane, making Primrose Hill Road and England's Road one route and Belsize Park Gardens and Eton Avenue another. The closure would be designed to allow access for the emergency services and bicycles.
- College Crescent/ Belsize Park - anti - skid surfacing
- Closure (but presumably allowing cycle access) of Savernake Road between Lisburne Road and Roderick Road and the removal of the long island
- Introduction of a new pedestrian Pelican crossing in Agincourt Road by Cressey Road
- Speed cushions in Parkhill Road
- Introduction of a new pedestrian Pelican crossing in Haverstock Hill by Belsize Grove, with narrowing of the road
- Pedestrian crossing facilities at the traffic lights at the Haverstock Hill/England's Lane junction (across England's Lane and the south eastern arm of Haverstock Hill)
- One - way working in the Mansfield Conservation Area for all the roads south of Constantine Road/Savernake Road:
  - Mackeson Road - northbound
  - Lisburne Road - southbound
  - Roderick Road - northbound (this is currently an official 2 way cycle route)
  - Shirlock Road - southbound
  - Courthope Road - northbound
  - Estelle Road - southbound
  - Rona Road - northbound
Most of these measures deserve the Campaign's support, although we are highly dubious about the plans to make all the streets running south from Constantine Road & Savernake Road one way. S ee here for our final response.
30/3/00 & & 21/4/00: South End Green - London Bus Priority Network WS Atkins
There was consultation a few months ago for this scheme, but the general feeling was that more thought was required to balance the need for better bus flow, against the the potential for improving the look of the area. The consultants have proposed 3 options:
- Option 1: Make no changes
- Option 2: Close & landscape slip road, widen South End Green road on approach to junction, add zebra crossing on a speed table next to the green, and another speed table just north of the green, move Pond Street zebra closer to the green.
- Option 3: Close & landscape slip road, traffic lights for junction (priority for buses exiting bus stand area), widen Pond Street, move Pond Street zebra closer to the green.
The above is a summary of the proposals.

We question whether increasing the width of the road in Pond Street or South End Green is a good idea. This increases the junction's capacity which is likely to attract more traffic, and secondly it removes pavement or green area from pedestrian use. We suggest that the current road widths should be retained, and it would be advisable to consider speed humps or tables for the length of East Heath Road (and Pond Street, Fleet Road & Constantine Road although the ambulance service would probably object to this) to reduce rat running traffic and traffic speeds. This is an important local shopping area for the community, and it would be a shame if the new proposals generated long tailbacks of polluting cars.

We stated a marginal preference for option 2 - see our full response here.
16/3/00 & & 21/4/00: Mansfield Area & Maresfield Gardens Area - Reduce/remove Saturday parking controls, & add double yellow lines around junction corners
The council is consulting on the following two areas. Mansfield (ie bounded by Mansfield Rd, Fleet Road, Constantine Road & Savernake Road) and Maresfield Gardens (bounded by Fitzjohn's Avenue, Netherhall gardens, Netherhall way & Maresfield Gardens). The questions are:
- Should the current 9.30 - 13.30 parking control hours on Saturdays be shortened, or removed altogether?
- Should double yellow lines be put round all junction corners (ie to ban parking 24 hours a day)?
The Campaign stated that the current 9.30 - 13.30 Saturday parking controls should be maintained, and welcomed the proposals for double yellow lines.
29/3/00 & 17/4/00: Advance Stop Lines on the Camden Town Red Route
It has taken 3 years of lobbying to get any cycle facility proposals for the Red Route through Camden Town, and it looks like the council should manage to squeeze these in just in time, as the Traffic Director's (the Red Route supremo) position disappears in a few weeks. A very welcome12 advance stop lines are being planned for:
- All 3 lanes of Parkway at its junction with Camden High Street
- Pratt Street at its junction with Camden High Street
- Both sides of Pratt Street at its junction with Camden Street
- Eversholt Street northbound at its junction with Lidlington Place/Oakley square
- Oakley Square westbound at its junction with Eversholt Street
- Cardington Street at its junction with Hampstead Road
- St Pancras Way at its junction with Camden Road
- Royal College Street at its junction with Camden Road (only for the straight ahead direction - we will ask for one on the left turn as well)
- Camden Street at its junction with Camden Road
- Both sides of Plender Street at its junction with Camden Street
We are disappointed that most of our feedback 2 months ago was ignored. See our formal response here.
27/3/00 & 17/4/00: Pedestrian crossing phases for Hampstead Rd & Plender Street/Camden Street
Camden is asking the Traffic Director for permission to put in:
- a pedestrian crossing phase of Hampstead Road next to its junction with Granby Street
- an all pedestrian crossing phase at the Plender Street/Camden Street junction (ie pedestrians will have a green man on all 4 arms of the junction at the same time).
CCC has supported this proposal.
13/3/00 & 13/4/00: School 'No Stopping' Zones
Vehicles will not be allowed to stop on the zig-zag markings outside the following schools Mon - Fri 7am - 6.30pm:
- Primrose Hill Primary School in Princess Road
- Edith Neville Primary School in Polygon Road (Somers Town)
- JFS Comprehensive School in Torriano Avenue
- Sainte Union Des Sacres Coeurs School in Croftdown Road
- St George the Martyr C of E Primary School in Millman Street & John's Mews
- Sir William Collins Secondary School in Charrington Street
- South Hampstead High School for Girls in Maresfield Gardens
- Brookfield Primary School in Chester Road & Croftdown Road
- South Hampstead Junior School in Nutley Terrace & Netherhall Gardens
- Camden School for Girls in Sandall Road & Bartholomew Road
- Hampstead Parochial C of E School in Hollybush Vale
We requested that the council uses double yellow lines to emphasise these restrictions, and does not add to street clutter through signage on posts.
8/3/00 & 8/4/00: Redington /Frognal Area - Proposed Time Restricted Entry Scheme
Confusingly the council appears to be reconsulting on part of a scheme from a couple of months ago. The proposals this time are for preventing vehicles from travelling southwards between 6.30 am & 9.30 am into the following roads:
- Briardale Gardens (restricted access from Finchley Road)
- Kidderpore Avenue
- Ferncroft Avenue
- Holly Croft Avenue & Rosecroft Avenue (restricted access from Platts Lane)
- Bracknell Gardens (restricted access from Heath Drive)
The council proposing two implementation options:
- Relying on signage only (inexpensive, quick to implement, but dependent upon police to enforce which they are unlikely to be able to do on a regular basis)
- Using automatic bollards which would rise up at 6.30am, and drop at 9.30am (self enforcing, but expensive and getting funding will be more difficult)
Some of these roads form the London Cycle Network Finchley Road Alternative cycle route, and we have asked for reassurance from the council that cyclists will be exempt from all access restrictions on all the above roads. We suggested that a cheaper and far more effective alternative would be to install permanent road closures on some or all of the roads subject to rat running.
24/2/00 & 23/3/00: Waiting Restrictions for West End Lane
The council is proposing to bring in no waiting 'at any time' for the section of West End Lane between Quex Road and Broadhurst Gardens.

The Campaign supported Camden on this proposal, but also suggested that mandatory cycle lanes are added on both sides as this is a London Cycle Network route.
21/2/00 & 10/3/00: Safe Routes to Schools - Conversion of Zebras to Pelican Crossings. The Project Centre
Camden is planning to convert the following eight Zebra crossings into Pelican Crossings as part of its Safe Routes to Schools programme.
1. Mill Lane, next to Ravenshaw Street
2. Mansfield Road, by Oak Village
3. Roseberry Avenue, by Laystall Street
4. Grays Inn Road, by Elm Street
5. Quex Road, By Mazenod Avenue
6. Highgate Road, by Croftdown Road
7. Regents Park Road, by Princess Road
8. Fortess Road, By Raveley Street
The Campaign objected to these proposals... see our consultation response for our reasoning.
4/2/00 & 4/3/00: Redington /Frognal Area - Proposed "At Any Time" Waiting & loading Restrictions
In order to improve pedestrian safety and improve 'sight lines', double yellow lines (ie no parking at any time) are planned for 10 metres in all directions around all corners of the Redington Rd/Heath Drive junction, in Greenway Gardens (outside no 15), and in Bracknell Gardens (outside numbers 5 & 6). The Campaign supported these proposals.
31/1/00 & 29/2/00: Regents Park - Highway Improvements Consultation. Betteridge Turner & Partners, for Royal Parks Agency
The Royal Parks Agency intends to make changes to the roads within Regents Park with the following core objectives: Reduce personal injury accidents; Improve conditions for pedestrians & cyclists; Minimise the effects of road traffic; and Maintain the environmental quality of the park. More specific objectives include reducing vehicle speeds, inproving pedestrian safety, and improve cycling safety through dedicated cycle facilities. The four options proposed are:
1. Introducing traffic signals at most key park gates
2. Provide ghost island right turn lanes at key intersections (ie centre of road right turn lane with protecting traffic islands just beyond - these would also assist pedestrians to cross road), with through cycle lanes (ie for cyclists going straight ahead).
3. Rumble strips (using stone setts) with right turn lanes as for option 2 (but no plans for cycle lanes)
4. Raised tables at all junctions, and flat topped humps at 70 metre intervals.
There has been much discussion within the Campaign on these measures. Our response was compiled by Daniel Glaser, and can be found here.
11/2/00 & 21/2/00: Swiss Cottage Development Proposals.
Note that this scheme is not yet out for public consultation. Consultants White Young Green have been invited to submit a tender for Camden's plans to redevelop much of the site bounded by Finchley Road & Winchester Road. Following questions on the scheme from CCC (we were keen that cycling provision was considered early on, and not retrospectively bolted on as an afterthought), they were instructed to contact us to get our outline suggestions on the planning brief which seeks improvements to the pedestrian and cycling links between the site and the surrounding residential area. Our response is here.
?/1/00 & ?/2/00: Platts Lane mini roundabout & timed no entry for nearby roads. JMP Consultant
The measures proposed are:
- Mini-roundabout at the junction of Platts Lane, Rosecroft Avenue and Hermitage Lane, carriageway narrowing in Platts Lane, surface treatment of Rosecroft Ave entrance and pedestrian island.
- No-entry between 7am and 10am Monday to Friday of Kidderpore Ave from Platts Lane, Ferncroft Ave from Platts Lane, Bracknell Gardens from Heath Drive and Briardale Gardens from Finchley Road (all inhibiting flow towards central London).
See our full response here.
27/1/00 & 27/2/00: Phoenix Road and Brill Place, NW1 - Proposed Streetscape Works
Camden plans to enhance the street environment in the above area, as part of the Kings Cross regeneration strategy. The objectives of the proposals are to reduce traffic speeds and to convey to drivers the need to drive slowly and carefally in a residential area containing schools and senior citizens. The proposals, which consist of the following measures:
- Raised entry treatment in Phoenix Road at junction with Eversholt Street
- Change of traffic priority at junction of Werrington Street and Phoenix Road (priority for traffic using ~Phoenix Rd to the west & Werrington Street), with a kerb build out on the south eastern corner
- Enhanced entrance to St Aloysius' School, with kerb buildout and raised entry treatment in Phoenix Road
- Removal of four taxi meter spaces in Phoenix Road
- Rights of way clarified at junction of Chalton Street and Phoenix Road with footway extension and introduction of road humps
- Footway buildout at junction of Brill Place and Purchese Street
- Tree planting and footway extensions to narrow carriageway in Brill Place
- Brill Place/Ossulston St road closure & cycle gap to have 'redefined two-way cycle gap with bollard pinch point and sett rumble strip'.
- Footway buildout in Brill Place at junction with Midland Road.
Brill Place, Phoenix Rd & Ossulston St are all on the London Cycle Network, and whilst this not look particularly worrying for cyclists, it does not look as if cyclists needs have necessarily been sufficiently considered. Our main concern is the new 'loops' at the Brill Place road closure cycle gaps, which are designed to prevent motorcycles from speeding through, may also stop cyclists with panniers (cf. Sustrans design manual); certainly tricycles & cycle trailers will not be able to pass.
20/1/00 & 20/2/00: Highgate Road, NW5 - proposed zebra crossings
Camden is planning zebra crossings in Highgate Rd near the junction of Little Green St (just to the north of the junction), and Burghley Road (again just to the north of the junction). These are proposed as children and people with disabilities frequently cross the road at these locations. These are very sensible proposals, and CCC supported them.
14/1/00 & 14/2/00: East Kentish Town CPZ Extension
Controlled parking was introduced into the area to the east of Kentish Town on 8th Nov last year; residents negative consultation feedback meant that the area essentially bounded by Fortess Rd, Leighton Rd & Brecknock Rd was omitted from the controlled parking zone (CPZ). However as soon as parking control was introduced into the rest of the area, residents in streets where parking was not controlled found that they were over-run with 'overspill parking'; this was what the council & CCC had expected to happen. Many residents have now asked the council to include their streets in the CPZ, and the consultation is on whether the zone should be extended to cover the whole area as originally planned, and whether the hours should be Mon - Fri 8.30am - 6.30 pm (like the rest of the zone) or only 3 hours (11am - 2pm). CCC supported this proposal, proposing 8.30am - 6.30pm for the CPZ hours of operation.
14/1/00 & 1/2/00: Hatton Garden Traffic Management & Streetscape Enhancements: Initial Proposals
Major traffic calming & environmental improvements are planned for the Hatton Garden area as part of the City Fringe Partnership; the aim appears to recreate a Covent Garden style environment where motor traffic is greatly slowed. The key components include gateways (mainly speed tables at the junctions) to the area bounded by Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell Road, Leather Lane & Holborn, speed tables at key junctions within the area, a lot of tree planting in the northern half, and improvements to the Leather Lane market environment. From a general perspective this looks very promising. Our response: we requested cycle lanes along Clerkenwell Rd, and plenty of cycle parking stands; we also requested a cycle bypass to the proposed no entry for Clerkernwell Road into Saffron Hill. We queried the arrangement in Clerkernwell Road of traffic islands and parking bays which could cause motor traffic to pinch cyclists.
12/1/00 & 31/1/00: Arkwright Road Traffic Calming
JMP Consultants have kindly asked us for our inital views before they put this scheme out for full consultation.

Humps are proposed for the following locations:
Speed tables are planned at the following junctions:
- Arkwright Road /Frognal
- Arkwright Road/Ellerdale Road
As far as we can see these proposals will benefit cyclists due to due to reduced traffic speeds, and we cannot see any disadvantages.
18/1/00 & 29/1/00: Bonny Street Road Closure
The council is proposing to close Bonny Street to motor traffic at its junction with Camden Road; the design incorporates a 3 metre wide two way cycle gap and will sport unspecified 'environmental improvements'. However no physical barrier is planned to prevent motor vehicle access - instead the 8 metre long cycle track will have no entry signs at both ends. This is presumably as the emergency services asked that no bollards be used so that they had access through the closure. We supported this proposal, but suggested that short section with raised blocks is set into the road surface (leaving a 1 metre gap for cyclists), in order to deter access attempts to all but fire engines & ambulances.
1/12/99 & 31/1/00: Camden Cycle Plan (draft)
A very promising start to a plan which will define the strategy to encourage cycling in Camden. The plan is based on our Bike 2001 report, and so far features 47 targets .
21/12/99 & 1/2/00: West Hampstead Gardens area - Proposed Junction Treatments
Camden is proposing the following measures, which were approved by committee in 1996, but now have funding available. The buildouts generally seem to be approximately the same width as a standard car parking bay.
- Speed table at Broadhurst Gardens*/Priory Road junction, with kerb buildouts into Broadhurst Gardens on both of the southern arms of the junction (these appear to create a chicane due to a disabled parking bay opposite, and look as if they will squeeze motorists into the path of cyclists).
- Kerb build-outs into Broadhurst Gardens* at the Fairhazel Gardens* junction
- Kerb build-outs into Fairhazel Gardens* at the Aberdare Gardens junction (we are concerned that motorists exiting Aberdare Gdns may over-run into the contraflow cycle lane)
- Speed table at Priory Road/Canfield Road junction*
* means the roads are on the London Cycle Network or Local Camden Cycle Network
15/11/99 & 10/1/2000. Camden Consultation on 'Car- Capped' Housing
The council is consulting on the 'principal of removing eligibility for on-street parking permits from residents of future residential development sites which are located in areas of parking stress'. Ie people who move into a new development in a street which the council's defines as over-parked will not be able to get a parking permit. Our formal response here.
? & Jan 2000. Government Consultation on PPG13 [ PLANNING POLICY GUIDANCE NOTE 13: TRANSPORT ].
Not a Camden consultation, but a really crucial one nonetheless. The government is currently consulting on revisions to this landmark guidance, which first appeared in the early 1990's, and marked the first major u-turn in 'predict and provide'(ie road building) policies for the car. It was this document which led to the eventual halt in out of town shopping centres, as well as considerable restrictions on in-town supermarkets.

The objectives of this guidance are to integrate planning and transport at the national, regional, strategic and local level to:
- promote more sustainable transport choices, and
- reduce the need to travel, especially by car.
... and thus help ensure that the planning system plays its part in the Government's strategy on sustainable development ... and revitalising towns and cities as places to live and work. See our detailed response.

Campaign Responses to Consultations since 2000

Grafton Road & Malden Road Traffic Order: 13/12/00
Camden Square CPZ Review: 17/12/00
East Kentish Town CPZ Review: 17/12/00
Montague Place Cycle Scheme: 2/11/00
Kilburn, Fortune Green & West End, Swiss Cottage/South Hampstead CPZs: 8/11/00
Proposed Traffic Management Measures for the Belsize & Mansfield Areas: 6/11/00
Fortess Road/Highgate Road/Dartmouth Park Hill Traffic Calming: 2/11/00
West Kentish Town 20 mph Zone: 9/10/00
GLA Congestion Charging: 21/9/00
Draft Community Strategy: 13/9/00
Church Row (NW3) Traffic Calming: 16/8/00
Interim Review of East Kentish Town CPZ: 10/8/00
Belsize Controlled Parking Zone Amendments: 31/7/00
Somers Town Safer Routes to School: 30/7/00
Gloucester Avenue/Regents Park Road: 11/6/00
Belsize Area Traffic Calming: 24/4/00
South End Green - London Bus Priority Network: 21/4/00
Advance Stop Lines on the Camden Town Red Route : 17/4/00
Safe Routes to Schools - Conversion of Zebras to Pelican Crossings: 13/3/00
Regents Park - Highway Improvements Consultation: 27/2/00
Platts Lane mini-roundabout: 18/2/00
Swiss Cottage Development Traffic Study: 16/2/00
Car Capped Housing: 9/1/99
Government Consultation on PPG13: 7/1/2000

East Kentish Town CPZ Review

17/12/00

We propose that parking controls be extended to Saturdays, hours 08:30 - 18:30 (this would also lead to less signage clutter due to smaller signs if hours the same as weekdays)

Note that due to the strategic nature of cycle routes in Camden, we discuss issues below which include the adjoining Camden Square CPZ which is also under review.

On the whole the introduction of the CPZs have been of considerable benefit for all residents by reducing substantially the number of vehicles parked on streets and especially blocking pavements at corners. And CCC recommends maintaining the overall present system.

However, we feel that the Council has missed the opportunity to integrate the CPZs with improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. We hope that the review is useful in helping the Council modify some aspects of the scheme to produce specific benefits for pedestrians and cyclists. In particular there is overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence that the provision of parking bays considerably exceeds the demand. This opens the opportunity to re-allocate road space for pedestrian and cyclist improvements.

It is important that cyclists' safety should be considered when devising parking bay layouts; ideally all roads would be subject to a cycle audit. If this is not practical then we request that an audit is conducted for the London Cycle Network and Local Cycle Network routes (as marked on the Camden Cycle Map), with both cyclist safety in mind, and the need for future construction of cycle lanes or tracks when these cycle routes are implemented.
Some parking bays have been introduced by the CPZs in places which are on key a cycle route, namely Leighton Rd, Brecknock Rd and Camden Park Road. We wish to record that a proposal will be going forward from the London Cycle Campaign to TfL and the LCN borough coordinators, in response to their request for a route, for the so-called 'NW1' strategic priority route linking the 'Somers Town' cycle route and Barnet. The proposed route will include St Margaret's Rd, Leighton Rd, Bartholomew Rd, Oseney Cr, Bing Pl, Torriano Av, Camden Park Rd, North Villas, Camden Sq. We propose that the Council should use this review to free unused bays and to consolidate the remaining essential bays to one side of the street in order to provide space for the cycle route. A proposal for implementing the section of the cycle route between Camden Park Rd and Agar Grove was submitted to the Council in January 2000 after an audit of the existing route commissioned from CCC's Cycling Audit & Design Unit (CADU). There is no doubt that sufficient bays could be freed from one or two sides of Camden Sq which could be used to implement the proposal from CADU, and also space can be freed from Bartholomew Rd, Oseney Cr & Bing Pl for a segregated cycle track. It is important in our view that the Council demonstrate its ability to integrate different measures, such as CPZs and cycle routes, in the way we propose. The initial implementation of the CPZ was conceptually mono-modal and allocated no space to cyclists or pedestrians.
Pedestrians are poorly served by the way that CPZ bays have been laid out up to 5 metres or less in some cases, of junctions. It is clear from the allocation of bays that every available space was used including that near junctions. Unfortunately, five metres is often not sufficient visibility space, and we recommend for pedestrian safety that ALL bays cease at least ten metres from junctions. In our view pedestrian saefty will be unacceptably compromised if any bay is less than 5 metres from the junction.
The existing single yellow lines only prevent parking around junctions during CPZ operational hours. Hence to improve pedestrian & vehicle safety we recommend double yellow lines around all junctions for a minimum of 5 metres from each corner.

The opportunity of the review to address these issues should not be overlooked. Camden Council has successfully shown that CPZs can contribute significant local environmental benefits. Our proposals suggest how the council can develop those benefits further.

Paul Gannon & Paul Gasson, Camden Cycling Campaign

Camden Square CPZ Review

17/12/00

We propose that parking controls be extended to Saturdays, hours 08:30 - 18:30 (this would also lead to less signage clutter due to smaller signs if hours the same as weekdays)

Note that due to the strategic nature of cycle routes in Camden, we discuss issues below which include the adjoining Camden Square CPZ which is also under review.

It is important that cyclists' safety should be considered when devising parking bay layouts; ideally all roads would be subject to a cycle audit. If this is not practical then we request that an audit is conducted for the London Cycle Network and Local Cycle Network routes (as marked on the Camden Cycle Map), with both cyclist safety in mind, and the need for future construction of cycle lanes or tracks when these cycle routes are implemented.
We wish to record that some parking bays have been introduced by the CPZs in places which are are on key a cycle route, namely Leighton Rd, Brecknock Rd and Camden Park Road. In particular we are surprised to note that parking bays have been provided on Camden Park Road in the very place where we had requested, and the Council had appeared to support, a cycle crossing of the Camden Rd Red Route. The cycle track was over-ruled by the Traffic Director due to its potential to affect traffic flows through the junction based on calculations performed by Camden Council. The parking bays are about as wide as the cycle track would have been, but do not appear to have been over-ruled nor to have caused the extra congestion that it was alleged the cycle track would produce. We can now see no reason why the cycle track cannot now be deployed as the parking bays &endash; which are in constant use despite whatever regulations there are &endash; have not caused congestion. Therefore we request the Council to 1) review the calculations it made in view of the new evidence 2) to re-approach the Traffic Director, now part of TfL, to request funding for the project to start.
We wish to record that a proposal will be going forward from the London Cycle Campaign to TfL and the LCN borough coordinators, in response to their request for a route, for the so-called 'NW1' strategic priority route linking the 'Somers Town' cycle route and Barnet. The proposed route will include St Margaret's Rd, Leighton Rd, Bartholomew Rd, Oseney Cr, Bing Pl, Torriano Av, Camden Park Rd, North Villas, Camden Sq. We propose that the Council should use this review to free unused bays and to consolidate the remaining essential bays to one side of the street in order to provide space for the cycle route. A proposal for implementing the section of the cycle route between Camden Park Rd and Agar Grove was submitted to the Council in January 2000 after an audit of the existing route commissioned from CCC's Cycling Audit & Design Unit (CADU). There is no doubt that sufficient bays could be freed from one or two sides of Camden Sq which could be used to implement the proposal from CADU, and also space can be freed from Bartholomew Rd, Oseney Cr & Bing Pl for a segregated cycle track. It is important in our view that the Council demonstrate its ability to integrate different measures, such as CPZs and cycle routes, in the way we propose. The initial implementation of the CPZ was conceptually mono-modal and allocated no space to cyclists or pedestrians.
Pedestrians are poorly served by the way that CPZ bays have been laid out up to 5 metres or less in some cases, of junctions. It is clear from the allocation of bays that every available space was used including that near junctions. Unfortunately, five metres is often not sufficient visibility space, and we recommend for pedestrian safety that ALL bays cease at least ten metres from junctions. In our view pedestrian saefty will be unacceptably compromised if any bay is less than 5 metres from the junction.
The existing single yellow lines only prevent parking around junctions during CPZ operational hours. Hence to improve pedestrian & vehicle safety we recommend double yellow lines around all junctions for a minimum of 5 metres from each corner.

Paul Gannon & Paul Gasson, Camden Cycling Campaign

Grafton Road & Malden Road Traffic Order for cushions & tables

13/12/00

Introduction

The Camden Cycling Campaign fully supports the principle of traffic calming Grafton Road and Malden Road, and is appreciative of the efforts made to incorporate some cycle facilities in both roads.

However the Campaign is highly concerned over the proposed positioning of the speed cushions and the advisory cycle lane as detailed in the designs supplied by JMP Consultants. In the view of the Campaign's entire Committee, these measures as currently designed will make both roads (which are on official cycle routes) substantially more hazardous for cyclists than at present.

Thus the Camden Cycling formally objects to this Traffic Order on the grounds that the designs do not take sufficient account of cyclists needs (especially as they are on official Camden cycle routes), and furthermore that they will inevitably lead to an increase in cyclist casualties.

However we do have a number of alternative proposals to offer, which if adopted would lead to us withdrawing our objections. The remainder of this letter is devoted to discussing the issues which arise out of the current designs, and our proposed solutions.

Speed cushions in general

We have had debates before within the Campaign on the merits of cushions, which many cyclists dislike as it leads to traffic weaving around to negotiate the cushions, and creates 'pinch points' for cyclists if vehicles attempt to overtake. And larger vehicles such as lorries are sufficiently wide to be able straddle the cushion completely, so can speed through them; hence cushions do not constitute an effective traffic calming measure for motor vehicles with wide wheelbases.

Essentially the key issue is that irrespective of the positioning of the cushions, they generally funnel the path of cyclists and traffic into the same piece of flat road space between the cushions, leaving little room for manouevre. And a cyclist who is forced by a motor vehicle to take last minute evasive action may be pushed into riding over the side of the cushion, which could result in them falling off, perhaps under the wheels of the vehicle which is following closely behind , or even attempting to overtake.

If speed cushions are to be used, they should be positioned so that the centre point between two cushions is approximately one metre away from the kerb (or where there is adjacent car parking, one metre from the parking bay); this is consistant with the optimum road positioning for cyclists in terms of safety, and thus reinforces the safe riding position. Of course there will be many cyclists who for whatever reason cycle closer to the edge of the carriageway, or nearer the centre; so even optimally placed cushions will still lead to cyclists pulling in or out to negotiate cushions.

Ideally we would prefer to see sinusoidal speed humps installed in place of cushions, or failing that speed tables. However we appreciate that changes of this magnitude are going to be difficult to acheive. We are also aware that bus operators and the emergency services are unlikely to accept the use of speed humps. We therefore devote our proposed solutions to changes in the positioning of the cushions.

Grafton Road cushions adjacent to parking bays (eg as on either side of Queen's Crescent junction)

Existing design

These sets of cushions above are arranged so that cyclists will either need to move into the centre of the road to avoid the cushions, or within inches of parked cars. The cushion layouts should be changed to reduce the hazards for cyclists.

CCC proposes that the cushions layout is modified as shown below.

Proposed design

Grafton Road cushions just north of Inkerman Road junction

Existing design

This design has an awkward combination of cushions, a long central island, and nearby parking bays. Cyclists who adopt the recommended positioning of 1 metre away from parked cars will be forced to either pull out towards the central reservation to pass the cushion (the most likely manoeuvre), or more timid cyclists will have a tight turn to make if they want to pass the cushion next to the kerb.

As show below, we think that the central island should be removed (as by physically separating vehicles travelling in opposite directions drivers feel safer about travelling faster), and two sets of 4 cushions (using the positioning indicated) should be deployed at either end of where the central island is currently located. A pedestrian refuge could added somewhere between the two sets of cushions in order to improve pedestrian crossing facilities.

Proposed design

If the central island cannot be removed, then we recommend cutting back the parking bay so that the 4 cushion configuration can be used prior to the central island starting, but with sufficient room between the end of the parking and the cushions so that cyclists are not forced to make a sharp turn to negotiate between the cushions.

Malden Road advisory lanes

The advisory cycle lanes are of limited value to cyclists as they cannot be enforced. Motor vehicles may drive in them whenever they wish, and where the lanes are adjacent to the kerb, cars can park in them outside of the controlled parking hours. However advisory lanes do at least 'flag up' to motorists that cyclists may be in the vicinity.

Where the lanes are adjacent to the kerb, they could be made mandatory for the controlled parking hours of operation (8.30am - 6.30 pm). We recommend (but will not formally object if this is not implemented) that this mandatory 8.30 - 6.30 operation is applied for the section of northbound cycle lane between the Prince of Wales Road junction and the Rhyl Street junction.

As a mandatory lane requires a blue sign on a post for each short section of lane, which will add to street clutter (and impede pedestrian flow unless it can be added to existing posts) we do not believe that this can be justified for the other shorter sections of advisory cycle lane.

Existing design

The 1 metre wide advisory cycle lanes above are positioned right next to the many car parking bays lining Malden Road; this may encourage less experienced cyclists to cycle too close to parked cars, with the possibility of being 'doored' by someone flinging open a car door without looking.

The road is not wide enough to allow for the ideal of a 1 metre wide gap away from parked cars, with a 1 metre wide lane. We recommend the use of narrower cycle lanes which have a gap between the inside of the lane and the outside of the parking bays. We suggest (although this is far from ideal) that the cycle lane has 0.5 metre wide gap away from parking bays, and is 0.75 metre wide.

We recommend that the cushion & cycle lane positioning as shown below is used.

Proposed design

Malden Road cushions south of Haverstock Road junction

Existing design

This pair of speed cushions is combined with a traffic island in the centre of the road. Outside of controlled parking hours vehicles will be able to park close to the cushions causing additional hazards for cyclists, and also obstruct heavy vehicles (if particular concern are the 24 and 46 bus services) which do already get blocked outside of CPZ hours. We request (but will not formally object if not implemented) the installation of double yellow lines for a minimum of 8 metres (and preferably 10-12 metres) on either side of the cushions.

Table across Malden Road/Queen's Crescent junction

We recommend that the junction corners are tightened to reduce vehicles speeds as they manouvre around the junction corners, and reduce the carriageway crossing distance for pedestrians; it may be worth installing a bollard on the pavement at each junction corner to prevent vehicles overruning onto the pavement area.

It is unclear from this diagram whether the existing pedestrian refuges will be retained. Unless the table ramp gradients are sufficently steep reduce traffic speeds to no more than 15mph, we strongly recommend that the current refuges are retained.

The Camden Cycling Campaign would be pleased to discuss these issues and any design changes with LB Camden or JMP Consultants.

Paul Gasson, Camden Cycling Campaign

Montague Place Cycle Scheme

2/11/00

Camden Cycling Campaign is pleased with the plans on the Montague Place Cycle Scheme which we have recently seen, but has a few comments which we hope can be incorporated.

Delineation of cycle lane

We are unclear from the drawings how the sections of cycle route which are not physically segregated are going to be marked. We appreciate that green surfacing will be used throughout, but require clarification on the type of white lining to be used.

We assume that dotted white lines (for an advisory cycle lane) will be used in the following places:

For the first 'lead-in' section of cycle lane; ie on the approach to the zebra crossing before the Russell Square/Montague Street junction.
Wherever the route crosses the main carriageway.

We recommend that solid white lines (mandatory) are used for the northern section of Montague Street/Russell Square, upto the left hand turn into Montague Place; this should be backed up with a sign clarifying that this is a 24 hour mandatory lane.

Cycle Logos

We recommend that cycle logos are placed on the track at approximately 20 metre intervals, in order to make the cycle route's existence clear to motorists and pedestrians.

In particular many tourists will be disembarking from coaches or wandering around in the vicinity of British Museum, and will not be familiar with the meaning of the green surfacing; they may assume that it is a pedestrian route.

Width of cycle tracks

Can you confirm that the cycle tracks will be no less than 1.5 metres wide at any point?

We recommend that the entrance to the track in Malet Street (ie for cyclists travelling westbound from Montague Place) be widen to around 2.5 metres as indicated in the diagram below. This will increase the turning radius and thus reduce the risk that cyclists who rapidly cross Malet Street to avoid oncoming motor traffic will overshoot into the pavement kerb.

Junction priority

Can the junction priority at the crossover into the track at the eastern end of Montague Place be clarified so that cyclists have priority? This should be a straightforward request to satisfy as the motor traffic will presumably only comprise the occasional coach.

It is also proposed that cyclists have priority when crossing the bottom end of Malet Street; a speed table could be installed just north of the track crossing to enforce this.

Malet Street Two to One Way

The lower section of Malet Street, where it turns from two way into one way flow was likely to be confusing to road users. At the very least there should be road markings to indicate the one way flow and the need for vehicles turning right to move over into the right hand lane.

We are concerned that the section of Malet Street where cyclists emerge from the track will be one way. Could the track be extended a bit further, or at least a cycle lane marked as far as the pedestrian crossing in Malet Street?

Kilburn, Fortune Green & West End, Swiss Cottage/South Hampstead CPZs

8/11/00

We responded to each of these consultations in two tranches; the first was an initial response at a fairly general level. The second was made 10 days later following a meeting of the Campaign's new West Hampstead Area Team.

Initial Response

For all 3 controlled parking zones (CPZs) we made the same overall comments.

It is very important to introduce parking controls across this entire area.
All day parking controls are necessary; we recommend they operate Mon - Sat 8:30am - 6.30pm
The business permit scheme should operate in the area.

It is important that cyclists' safety should be considered when devising parking bay layouts; ideally all roads would be subject to a cycle audit. If this is not practical then we request that an audit is conducted for the London Cycle Network and Local Cycle Network routes listed below (and as marked on the Camden Cycle Map), with both cyclist safety in mind, and the need for future construction of cycle lanes or tracks when these cycle routes are implemented.

Kilburn CPZ

We strongly believe that a 20mph limit for this area is desirable, and fully support this option.

The following roads within the CPZ are on London Cycle Network routes:

West End Lane
Quex Road
Kilburn High Road
Shoot Up Hill

The following roads within the CPZ are on Lo

Camden Cycling Campaign

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Traffic Management Schemes

proposed by Camden Council, and Camden Cycling Campaign's responses

Summary of Camden Traffic Management Proposals

Campaign Responses to Consultations since 2000

East Kentish Town CPZ Review

Camden Square CPZ Review

Grafton Road & Malden Road Traffic Order for cushions & tables

Montague Place Cycle Scheme

Kilburn, Fortune Green & West End, Swiss Cottage/South Hampstead CPZs

Initial Response

Kilburn CPZ