Chalk Farm Town Centre Project
CCC responded to a pre-consultation contact in March.
The details of a new consultation are now on the Camden Council website.
Click here to see the consultation leaflet
The council propose the following measures:
- many new locations for cycle stands
- improvements around the area of the painted bridge
- pocket square at Regents Park Road junction and removal of the kiosk that blocks cyclists views as they come down the contraflow lane
- proposals for new pedestrian crossings
- changes to signals to allow pedestrians to cross at the Ferdainad Street junction, but no mention of cycles crossing
- safety improvements at Camden lock Railway Bridge
The questionnaire is also on Camden Council’s website at:
Click here to see the consultation questionnaire
CCC’s response
1. Regents Park Road Bridge
Q1. Do you agree with the proposed changes to the Regents Park Road Bridge area as described on page 5 of the booklet?
Yes
2. Regents Park Road Junction and Pocket Square
Q2. Do you agree with the proposed changes to the Regents Park Road Junction and Pocket Square area as described on pages 6 and 7 in the booklet?
Yes
Comments
We are pleased to see that the kiosk is to be moved.
Q3. Do you agree with the proposed changes to the Camden Lock Railway Bridge area as described on page 8 of the booklet?
Yes – see comments
Comments
Approach from the Hampstead side: we are pleased to see that a ASL has been put in. However we mentioned on the mini CRIM that the are in front of the ASL is a pinch point for cyclists because drivers pass close to the left kerb.
We suggested the following possible solutions:
(i) trim the island so that drivers are further to the right and mark a very wide (e.g. 2m) feeder lane to encourage drivers to move over to the right;
(ii) if the island cannot be trimmed, take out the inadequate feeder lane, as it encourages cyclists to ride close to the kerb and apparently allow drivers to take the turn at the same time.
Approach from Camden Town side: at the mini-CRIM we suggested a central feeder lane (where hatchings are now) to access both ASLs; the feeder lanes on the left and right sides should be removed.
Questions relating to the Traffic Proposals
1. Proposed Pedestrian Crossings
Q4. Do you agree with the location of the proposed pedestrian crossing outside the Roundhouse Theatre?
Q5. Do you agree with the location of the proposed traffic refuge near the Adelaide Road/Bridge Approach Junction?
Yes
It isnt clear from the drawing on page 6 as to where this will be or how it will affect the cycle crossing from Crogsland Road to Regents Park Road. As you know from our comments at the mini-CRIM on 1st June, CCC has other concerns related to this crossing. These are repeated in our General Comments at the end.
Q6. Do you agree with the location of the proposed traffic refuge proposed along Castlehaven Road?
Yes
Comment
At the mini-CRIM we also suggested a cycle gap in the closure of Leybourne Street to enable two routes:
i) from Chalk Farm Road via Hawley Street to Castlehaven Road (avoiding the junction under the railway bridge);
ii) southbound on Castlehaven Road via the cycle track in Castlehaven Open Space to Camden Lock.
The proposed refuge is conveniently situated in relation to the gap we request.
2. Waiting and Loading Review
It is likely that some people will agree with the principle of what we are trying to achieve but disagree with some of the details. For this reason we ask you to answer the two following questions so that we know whether you support the objectives of the scheme and whether you agree with the specific proposal shown pages 9 to 11 in the booklet.
Q7. Do you agree with the principle of simplifying and making the waiting and loading restrictions more consistent along Chalk Farm Road?
Yes
Q8. Do you agree with the details of the proposals shown on pages 10 and 11 of the booklet?
No
Comment
Although Chalk Farm road is not a cycle route, it still has a good proportion of cyclists. LB Camden clearly recognised this when they organised the Mini CRIM.
In such a busy road in an inner city area, loading times should be reduced to a minimum.
Parking – night time parking (and loading) on the south side of road should be prevented; several cyclist casualties occurred on this side of the road.
Loading – the loading regime indicated by the green dotted line is too permissive: it allows parking for six hours during the days on weekdays and all night. Restrictions should cover 7-10 am and 4-7 pm.
Questions relating to the Other Proposals
Q9. As shown on the map on pages 2 and 3 of the booklet, do you agree with the proposed locations for:
a) public seating?
Yes
b) pedal cycle stands?
Yes
Comment
The proposal includes the majority of the locations we suggested, but please try to add some stands at the following locations:
- Community Housing Group, 100 Chalk Farm Road, instead of guard rail
- Hampstead side of Ferdinand Street outside the Barley.
- Harmood Street : add two more
c) motorcycle bays?
No comment
Monitoring Information
An important part of the scheme is to show what impact the project has had. This may include looking at the numbers of road casualties, as well as how many people are walking or cycling in the area. However, we also want to look at how people feel about the town centre – How safe? How attractive? To start this monitoring, we would be very grateful if you could complete the following questions. The more responses we get, the more accurately we can measure any changes.
Q10. How easy is it to get to Chalk Farm?
By bicycle: there are plenty of side road approaches on the east side, but the access is blocked by the railway on the west side. The main difficulty concerns the north-east to south-west movement mentioned above. For example, those that visit the area from the south east over the canal bridge cannot return the way they came. Instead they have make a detour via the fast-moving counter-clockwise gyratory.
Q12. In terms of road safety, how safe does it feel to get around Chalk Farm?
By bicycle: is is neither very safe nor very unsafe. The main difficulties are due to the junction under the railway bridge and the difficulty of moving out round parked cars. The latter should be helped with the new proposals.
Q16. How would you rate traffic congestion in Chalk Farm Road? Very bad.
Please provide any comments you may have about the existing town centre and the monitoring questions above…
General Comments
We strongly support the Town Centre method in which a holistic approach is applied to a large area, considering the needs of all users rather than the piecemeal approach in which certain users are catered for. We hope that LB Camden will be successful in getting sufficient funding to carry out both this one and the one for Kentish Town.
We are disappointed that some of the issues that we identified at the Mini CRISP on 1st June have not been addressed in this proposal. Possibly they are too fine in detail to be included in the consultation document. The following are very important and should be addressed:
Regents Park Road
- contraflow cycle track on downhill (Chalk Farm Road) side: increase width to 1.5 m, retaining as much of the hatched area as possible;
- widen the 2.1 m two-way cycle track at bottom of the hill. Alternatively leave width as it is, but reserve track for cyclists coming down Regent’s Park Road; cyclists coming up Regent’s Park Road from/across Chalk Farm Road to be encouraged to use main carriageway.
- cycle track on uphill (Adelaide Road) side: consider marking in green to make drivers aware when they move out from the parking area (but not in such a way as to encourage cyclists to ride alongside parked vehicles).
Cycle crossing Regents Park Road – Crogsland Road
- the path of cyclists across Chalk Farm Road is very often blocked by queuing vehicles. Mark a box junction to keep the area clear. On the Crogsland Road side, the box should span the gap between the stop line on the Haverstock Hill side of Crogsland Road and the pedestrian crossing on the Camden Town side of Crogsland Road.
- cyclists on Crogsland Road approaching Chalk Farm Road experience a pinch point when vehicles park near the entry to the two-way cycle track; place a bollard on the approach to the pinch point to keep the area clear.
- cyclists crossing on the green signal from Regents Park Road to Crogsland Road sometimes encounter Camden Town bound vehicles on the second half of the crossing. This appears to be due to drivers in the offside lane being unable to see the signal on the Haverstock Hill side of Crogsland Road and in any case facing and believing themselves to be controlled by the signal at the pedestrian crossing.
Possible solutions:
(i) more paint: elephants feet/yellow box hatching;
(ii) additional signal, on the island by the cycle lane, directed down towards drivers in the outside lane (and so parallel to the one on the Haverstock Hill side of Crogsland Road;
(iii) alter the sequencing so that the signals on the Haverstock Hill side go red two or three seconds before all the others, so that traffic between the two signals is able to flow forward towards the red light by the pedestrian crossing, keeping the area between Regents Park Road and Crogsland Road free for cyclists.
- cyclists on the island in the middle of Chalk Farm Road cannot determine the state of the signal Haverstock Hill of Crogsland Road. Therefore, a new cycle signal facing towards Regents Park Road should be attached to the signal head on the island in the middle of Crogsland Road, so that they can be sure they are supposed to cross all the way over on a green light.
