As a part of a bus route improvement scheme the following junction improvement measures have been agreed between the London Borough of Camden and the London Borough of Brent:
Re-align the traffic lanes in Kilburn High Road to provide a right turning lane from Kilburn High Road into Belsize Road and a right turning lane from Kilburn High Road into Cambridge Avenue.
Re-position the pedestrian crossing in Kilburn High Road, north of the junction with Belsize Road, and widen the traffic islands to provide better and safer crossing points for pedestrians.
Provide a signal controlled crossing in Belsize Road.
Prevent illegal right turning traffic from Belsize Road into Kilburn High Road by extending the traffic island in Kilburn High Road.
Move the beginning of the bus lane 20m north of the pedestrian crossing at the junction with Belsize Road.
Re-align the pedestrian crossings at the junctions of Kilburn High Road with Springfield Lane and Cambridge Avenue and widen the traffic islands to improve pedestrian facilities and the flow of buses and traffic.
CCC’s response
Question 1: Do you agree with the proposed junction improvement at Kilburn High Road/Belsize Road? No
Question 2: Do you agree with te proposed improvement at Kilburn High Road/ Cambridge Avenue. Yes (other available options No, do nothing
Question 3 Do you have any other comments, suggestions or objections on this scheme ?
Further comments:
We reject the proposed junction improvement at Kilburn High Road/Belsize Road because they do not provide any improvement for cycling which most road improvements should try to achieve. It is very useful for cyclists to be able to turn right from Belsize Road into Kilburn High Road. This could be achieved by either one of the following schemes.
1) Cyclists could be exempted from the right turn ban and be allowed to cross the proposed extended traffic island (on Kilburn High Rd) via a ramp. Cyclists could use the traffic island as a refuge before entering the North-bound lane on Kilburn High Road. The lights for vehicles turning right into Belsize Road would have to be on red while the cyclists turn from Belsize Road.
2) The crossings at Belsize Road and Kilburn High Rd should be turned into Toucan Crossing allowing both pedestrians and cyclists to cross. The corner of the pavement in front of Holland and Barrett should be slightly modified to facilitate cyclists without affecting pedestrians.
We accept the modifications at the Cambridge Avenue Junction on the basis that a right turn from Cambridge Avenue into Kilburn High Road seems to be allowed. However if this is an omission in the drawing (and the new traffic island would seem to prevent right turns) then our proposals described above would apply to this junction as well.
We also note that the new proposed islands result in narrowing of the lanes, which generally represents a risk for cyclists. We recommend that feeder lanes to ASL are of sufficient width and that warning signs to indicate presence of cyclists are used.