Early in August, CCC received a Traffic Order relating to Midland Road and Pancras Road:

"to make Pancras Road South, from Euston Road to Goodsway/Camley Street one-way (northbound) to all vehicles. No entry at Goodsway/Camley Street/Pancras Road (Bridge) junction."

CCC had always been promised two-way cycling in Pancras Road between Goodsway and Euston Road. But decisions relating to CTRL developments are not subject to consultation, so we never know what is happening until we see the Traffic Orders.

The initial response from Camden council was discouraging:

Email from Laurie Baker:

Unfortunately, the traffic order is correct. The decision to move Pancras Road from its CTRL alignment to one close to St Pancras Station has meant that the cycleway will not be provided in November 2007.

The reason for it not being provided is the considerable construction activity in the area until 2011/12 and the access changing from time to time, especially the Northern Ticket Hall and King's Cross Station and the requirement by the railway operators for taxis to serve all the stations.

Once these works are complete and the final road layout is constructed as part of the King's Cross central development there will be a dedicated contra flow cycle facility between Goods Way and the Boulevard junction. South of there, there will be southbound buses, taxis and cycles.

Obviously not a segregated two-way cycle way as we'd all hoped but this has been brought about by the requirement for southbound buses, south of the Boulevard junction and not enough room between St Pancras Station and the Great Northern Hotel for a segregated cycleway.

Obviously, disappointing but I hope this explains what has happened. From November 2007, cyclists will be able to go northbound on Pancras Road and southbound on Midland Road. Not ideal, I admit, but hopefully better conditions will be provided when the King's Cross Central development and all the stations are constructed.

This implies that cyclists who have been using Camley Street to get to Kings Cross via Pancras Road are expected to turn right, go under the Eurostar rails and then turn left into Midland Road, from where they somehow go through St Pancras Station to access Kings Cross.

Meeting with Camden Officers 30 August 2007

John Chamberlain and Jean Dollimore had a meeting with Camden officers and things now look much better. Briefly, the traffic order (which dealt with arrangements from 2007-11), was incomplete in that it failed to mention that taxis will be allowed southbound access. We are promised a new traffic order that will specify access for cycles and taxis.

If you want to know more about that meeting, then have a look at:

John's minutes

If you haven't already found out for yourselves, you'll see that arrangements for cycle parking at St Pancras are despicable and that we are having a battle to get any improvements.