Danger spots in Camden Classified

Fortune Green Road/Finchley Road/Platts Lane (1)

David Arditti, seconded by Paul Bramley

This is entirely in Camden, though near the Barnet border.
The main problem is for cyclists trying to proceed from FG Road to Platts Lane. They have to wait in the centre of the road on a lane that is marked as "left and ahead" while a left filter operates to get traffic from FG Road onto Finchley Road. In this highly dangerous position they get cut-up by vehicles trying to turn left around them from both narrow northbound lanes of FG Road. Then when the lights change, the phase is too brief to allow a cyclist to get across the Finchley Road (uphill) before heavy traffic is bearing down from Finchley Road southbound. When I did this regularly I found the only way was to wait miles ahead of the stop line. But it was a nightmare.
It is supposed to be an LCN intersection, but when I complained about it 6 year ago, TfL refused to change it on the grounds that they did not want to reduce capacity (the "dismount" signs subsequently went up).
The multiple problems are:
• The light phasing
• The inadequate lane widths in FG Road
• The operation of the left filter from FG Road
• The markings on both N-bound lanes in FG road, allowing traffic to turn left from both lanes
• The operation of the left filter from Finchley Road N-bound into FG Road (very nasty for pedestrians)
• The tortuous, slow, pedestrian crossing arrangements (contributing to numerous deaths over the years, as people try to cross in other ways)
• The lack of visibility of the ped. crossing on Finchley Road N- bound to traffic coming from FG Road

Camden Town: Greenland Road / Camden Street (1)

James Brander

Turning right into into Greenland Road from Camden Street.

Kentish Town Road (1)

James Brander

Straight on southbound on Kentish Town Road at its junction with Royal College Street.

Kentish Town Road (1)

James Brander

Straight on southbound on Kentish Town Road at its junction with Hawley Road and Camden Street.

The problem is that motorists turn left into Camden Street across the paths of cyclists going straight on.

Kentish Town Road (2)

James Brander

Right into Islip St from Kentish Town Road northbound.

The cyclist is squeezed in a small area while waiting to turn right is in the middle of a narrow road where vehicles pass from behind and in front.

Illegal parking makes the situation worse.

Kentish Town Road (2)

James Brander

Right into Holmes Rd from Kentish Town Road southbound.

The cyclist is squeezed in a small area while waiting to turn right is in the middle of a narrow road where vehicles pass from behind and in front.

Illegal parking makes the situation worse.

Kentish Town Road (2)

James Brander

Right into Prince of Wales Rd from Kentish Town Road southbound.

Kentish Town Road (3)

James Brander

Crossing Kentish Town Road from Kelly Street into Bartholomew Road and vice versa.

Chalk Farm Road/Castlehaven Road (2)

James Brander

Right into Castlehaven Road from Chalk Farm Road northbound.

King Henry’s Road/Primrose Hill Road (3)

James Brander

Straight on westbound at King Henry’s Road with Primrose Hill Road.

Shaftesbury Avenue/Bloomsbury Street (2)

James Brander

Right into Shaftesbury Avenue at the bottom of Bloomsbury Street (by the Shaftesbury theatre).

Parkway/Prince Albert Road (3)

Paul Braithwaite

The junction from northbound Outer Circle at Gloucester Gate’s junction after Albany Street, where Prince Albert Road begins. No ASL, narrow lanes and 90% of vehicles in the left lane turn left when lots of bikes want to go straight on.

York Way (1)

Paul Braithwaite

From Kings Cross north on the east side ALL the way up York Way to Agar Grove.

The green cycle paths come and go and the two intermediate sets of lights, particularly with Goods Way northbound, are dangerous without ASLs. Apparently, Camden maintains BOTH sides of this road, despite the east side being in Islington

Gordon Street/ Euston Road (2)

David Smith

I nominate Gordon St. at the junction with Euston Rd, especially north bound. A number of issues:
• narrow carriageway – no verge or cycle lane
• heavy incoming traffic from Gower Place making right turn on Gordon St. just south of Euston Rd. Traffic often backs up blocking the southbound lane of Gordon St. This is the primary turn off from west bound Euston Rd traffic going to Euston Stn. The incoming traffic completely blocks junction so there is no where to cycle
• poor road condition with uneven pavement and potholes
• no ASL – in fact there is no real stop line for any vehicles.
• deplorable traffic lights – cyclists who are unfamiliar with the junction move forward to stop at an imaginary stop line but are actually forward of the traffic signals. There are no south-facing signals on the northbound side of Gordon St so cycles (or other vehicles) stopping ahead of the signals have no direct indication when the green signal starts behind them.

Mill Lane/ Fortune Green Road (2)

Paul Bramley

I’d nominate the junction of Mill Lane turning left onto Fortune Green Road, where the road is too narrow to allow cyclists to get into the priority box. This junction has been a mess ever since traffic lights were placed there, with impatient drivers jumping the lights and traffic backlogs on Mill Lane pumping fumes into Emmanuel primary school playground.

Euston Road/ Albany Street (2)

Tony Raven

The junction of Euston Rd and Albany St where the road widens leaving eastbound cyclists stranded in the middle coping with traffic trying to cross to the correct lane for their journey.

Euston Road/ Gower Street (1)

Tony Raven

Westbound at Euston Rd and Gower St where two lanes of traffic are turning left but the continuation cycle track is on the right hand side of the road. You either need to stop and wait for the lights to change to cross in front of the traffic to the cycle lane or mix it on the outside of the two left turning lanes where motor vehicles are jostling between turning left and going down the underpass.

Russell Square/ Bedford Way (1)

Tony Raven

The left turn off Russell Square onto Bedford Way where traffic on the RHS tries to turn left across cyclists wanting to go straight on to Woburn Place/Bernard St.

Tavistock Place to Torrington Place cycle track (2 at junction Tottenham Court Road, 4 at side roads)

Tony Raven

The whole length of the Tavistock Place to Torrington Place cycle track which creates multiple conflicts at junctions and side roads plus when needing to leave the cycletrack when travelling west bound.

Swiss Cottage gyratory (1)

Jean Dollimore

This has problems all round. Cyclists coming north up Avenue Road are supposed to go right round the gyratory, switching lanes amidst heavy traffic, but many use the footway by the Library. If they go round the gyratory it is very difficult to access College Crescent

Southbound cyclists on Finchley Road aiming for Avenue Road can cut through onto College Crescent, but then have to get past the bus bays by the library, and avoid the left turn into Adelaide Road.

Turning right into Adelaide Road is difficult for northbound cyclists on Avenue Road or St Johns Wood Road – they use two or three pedestrian crossings to make the move.

Parkway between Delancey Street and Outer Circle Regents Park (2)

Colin Tulleth

Junction Parkway/Albany Street/Gloucester Gate, heading south. The road has three lanes including on elft-turn only lane for Albany Street. A cyclist heading for the Outer Circle needs to ride in the middle lane to get safely into Gloucester Gate and then pass the parked cars in the narrower carriageway of Gloucester Gate. The big width of the road coupled with a left-turn only lane means that drivers often either take a left turn from in front of cyclists, or undertake in order to go straight on. There is no ASL at this set of signals.

Junction Outer Circle/Gloucester Gate, heading north from the Outer Circle into Gloucester Gate. The difficulty is trying to turn right: there are no road markings and no protected right turn zone. The speed of motor cycles is also a problem.

Regents Park Outer Circle (2)

Colin Tulleth seconded by Stefano Casalotti

A new central island has been built which is not in itself a problem – however some genius has painted a cycle lane which extends straight into the back of a line of cars. The safe route to take (to avoid the parked cars) is about 2 metres wide of the bike lane. As can be seen from the photo, it might have been safer to have a footway build out to the width of the parked cars, so that the remaining carriageway is so narrow that there is no question of overtaking a cyclist in the gap.

Russell Square /Southampton Row (1)

Bija Knowles and Colleen Macaulay (reported independantly)

The danger occurs when you are travelling southbound on Woburn Place where it becomes Southhampton Row, and then you need to turn right (eastbound) to go around Russell Square.

Bija Knowles: There are traffic lights there, but there is no cycle lane and no cycle box in front of the traffic lights. This means that the cyclists (there are usually quite a few of us) have to wait in single file alongside cars and lorries on the left hand side of the two lanes of traffic (ie, the side that HGVs and car drivers have least visibility on). The result is the cyclist has to pull off along side cars and HGVs when the lights change to green. The vehicles accelerate around the corner and lorries tend to veer to the left as they turn right and accelerate – that is when I have felt most in danger, because they just don’t see you.

Colleen Macaulay: The problems are that Woburn Place becomes one way at Russell Square, before that I ride on the left of the road, then have to get over to the right as to not go down Southhampton Row. Sometimes I stay in the middle lane so that I can be on the left hand side of the road after turning right. Sometimes traffic is so horrible that I stick to the right hand side of Woburn Place and at stopped lights I cross Russell Square from right to left in order to be on the correct side of road for the turn into Montague Street. god this sounds jumbled!! looking at map… hope you understand?
The trouble is the change to one way as well as road splitting: one minute you’re on left hand side of road, then in order to turn right you either need to be travelling middle lane or else get onto the right side and then cross again to the left side. Danger can be on green light or stopped… I usually push my bike forward to be visible.

Bija Knowles: My solution would be to put traffic lights signalling cyclists to go first, so they can clear the traffic and cycle in safety. A cycle lane would be good, but I’m not sure this would stop the traffic from veering into the cycle lane and pushing the cyclists out of it. Another issue comes after you have turned right onto the square and are cycling eastbound. You then have to either follow the square round, or turn left, or reach the cycle lane in the middle of the traffic lanes (which leads to the road behind the British Museum). If the cyclist tries to make it to the cycle lane, you usually have cars overtaking you and switching lanes on either side, which I feel is dangerous, and is another reason why I think cyclists should have a separate traffic light so they can go ahead of the other traffic.

Royal College Street /Camden Road (2)

Anne Boston

My danger spot is at the junction of Royal College Street with Camden Road going north, just the other side of Camden Road after the lights. The road surface on the north side of RCSt at the junction is broken (potholes, manhole covers etc)over a stretch of several yards. It’s quite hard to see (dark under bridge) and you hit it just as you’re trying to gain speed ahead of cars after the lights change. There’s very little space and you are forced into it by parked cars in that stretch of Royal College Street.

Finchley Road at Swiss Cottage (2)

Jane Boardman

Finchley Road between Swiss Cottage and Finchley Road Station; the traffic is too fast and does not stop at the pedestrian crossings. The lanes are too narrow, vans fill the lanes, buses overhang the lane markings. When the bus lane is parked up as it is most of the time there is not enough space for cyclists to pass safely without moving into the traffic lane which is too narrow, too fast and very few drivers will give way/allow enough room when overtaking. This probably applies further along as well but this is my most frequently used strip and is the busiest pedestrian/shopping section.