ROYAL COLLEGE STREET AREA 20 mph zone
COUNCIL TEXT
As part of Camden Council’s policy to reduce accidents and provide a safer and more pleasant residential environment, the Council is proposing a 20mph Zone for the Royal College Street area.
Speed surveys have been carried out at various locations within the proposed zone and have indicated that motorists currently travel above the legal speed limit of 30mph. This is particularly an issue along Royal College Street where the 85th percentile speed (explained overleaf) was recorded ranging from 33mph to 42mph. This indicates that 15% of traffic was travelling above these speeds.
Accident surveys have also been carried out within the proposed zone using all Police reported Personal Injury accidents that have occurred over the past 3 years. A total of 28 accidents have been recorded, 4 of which were serious, and 3 of which involved children aged 16 and under.
The combination of these facts, in addition to concerns raised by local people, has been the basis for Camden considering a 20mph local safety scheme in this area. The proposed measures, detailed overleaf, are intended to reduce speeds and speed related accidents, as well as improve the street environment for the more vulnerable road user, such as cyclists and pedestrians. In addition to the main proposals, two further zebra crossings are being proposed on Pratt Street outside Our Lady’s RC Primary School, and on Royal College Street between Baynes Street and Randolph Street.
The proposals would affect all residents / businesses living in or nearby the following roads: Royal College Street, Randolph Street, Baynes Street, Georgiana Street, Pratt Street, Mandela Street, Plender Street and College Place. A layout of the proposed Royal College Street Area 20mph Zone is shown on the inside of this leaflet.
Government Regulations specify that a 20mph Zone must have physical traffic calming measures, not more than 100 metres apart, to ensure vehicular speeds are kept to 20mph and below, making the speed limit within the zone ‘self enforcing’. An explanation of the various traffic calming features proposed for the Royal College Street area has been provided on the inside of this leaflet.
Scheme Proposals
The traffic calming measures proposed for the Royal College Street Area 20mph Zone, detailed on the plan opposite, are as follows:
- Raised entry treatments will generally be used at most junctions.
- Speed cushions along Royal College Street and Baynes Street.
- Speed humps will generally be used on most roads (with the exception of Royal College Street and Baynes Street).
- Raised Zebra Crossings on Pratt Street outside Our Lady’s RC Primary School, and on Royal College Street, between Randolph Street and Baynes Street. The existing Zebra Crossings on Royal College Street, immediately south of its junction with Pratt Street, and immediately south of its junction with Plender Street will be raised.
- Ripple Print surfacing at the zone entry point on Royal College Street from Crowndale Road.
- 20mph Zone signage at all zone entry points as well as 30mph signs at the exit points (where appropriate).
CCC’s response
Question 1:
Do you agree with the proposed Royal College Street 20 mph zone an the associated traffic calming measures
Yes
Question 2:
Do you agree with the proposed raised Zebra Crossing outside our Lady’s RC Primary School, Pratt Street?
Yes
Question 3:
Do you agree with the proposed raised Zebra Crossing on Royal College Street between Baynes Street and Randolph Street?
Yes
Your Comments
The Camden Cycling Campaign generally welcomes this 20 mph scheme. We have the following comments/suggestions
1) Lyme Street and Georgiana Street should be included in the 20mph zone
2) The pedestrian crossings on Royal College street should be closer to the junctions to make them more convenient to pedestrians.
3) While we understand that the law requires physical measures to self-enforce the 20 mph zones, more original and less expensive measures could be implemented. For example: a barrier half way into College Street would remove all through traffic. Entry into Plender Street from Royal College street could be forbidden etc.
4) We note the implementation of Ripple Print Surface. We have no experience of this type of road surface and its effect on cyclists. We thus reserve our judgment on this feature.
5) We doubt whether the cushions on Royal College Street will be effective at reducing the speed to 20mph. We strongly recommend the use of a speed camera.
6) We suggest that this scheme should take the opportunity of extending the very popular segregated cycle lane on Royal College Street to its north end. (This could be funded with the money saved with the reduction of the number of humps and the revenue from the speed camera.)
