COUNCIL TEXT
I am writing to ask for your views on the Council’s proposal to construct a new zebra crossing on Purchese Street near its junction with Polygon Road.
This scheme is aimed to reduce the risk of accidents and improve pedestrian safety in the area, particularly as the site is in close proximity to Edith Neville Primary School, two children’s playgrounds, a community centre and other local amenities.
It is anticipated that this work will start in March 2006. The funding for this work has been secured from Transport for London (TfL), the British Library and Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL).
The proposed measures are shown in the centre of this leaflet.
The measures proposed are:
• Constructing a zebra crossing on Purchese Street near to its junction with Polygon Road. This will involve lowering the cycle track to carriageway level with a 2m ramp on both sides.
• Installing zigzag clearway markings before and after the crossing point, to ensure sightlines are kept clear at all times from any waiting vehicles. This would involve relocating 5 residents parking bays in Purchese Street, as shown on the drawing overleaf.
This new zebra crossing is proposed to give safer pedestrian access to the public amenities in the immediate area, such as the school, the children’s playgrounds and the community centre.
CCC’s response
Purchese Street is well known to cyclists as it forms part of LCN Route 6, a very heavily used cycle route. Camden Cycling Campaign were surprised to see this proposal for a zebra crossing in Purchese Street, as we had seen it as being a very quiet street, with little vehicle traffic.
However if the local people believe that is necessary, we will not oppose it, even though it does have a negative effect on the cycle track. We describe below how this negative effect can be minimised.
Our main point is that we doubt the wisdom of designing the crossing in such a way that cyclists will be going downhill (on a gradient of 1 in 20) as they approach the crossing. This is particularly relevant for northbound cyclists who will not have much view of the zebra as they emerge round the tree from Polygon Road.
It would be better to design a zebra crossing that is raised to the footway level right across the road. Raised crossings are in general more effective than level ones and in this case, would be level with the cycle track, avoiding the need for the ramps. Finally, this solution would cause the least disruption to the cycle track, particularly during the construction.
Our second point is that all effort should be made to avoid disrupting the cycle route during the construction of the zebra crossing. To avoid cyclists turning onto the footway to avoid the works, it would be best to provide a temporary ramp from the cycle track down to Purchese Street where it meets Polygon Road.
Questions
Q1. Do you agree with the proposed zebra crossing in Purchese Street near its junction with Polygon Road? Yes.
