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Consultation seeking views on the proposal to remove the traffic signals at the junction of Mill Lane / Fortune Green Road / West End Lane and replace the signals with zebra crossings across both Mill Lane and Fortune Green Road. The junction was signalised in 2004/2005 as part of the School Travel Plan scheme for Emmanuel C of E Primary School. The aim of the signals was to provide safer crossing facilities for school children and their parents/carers on their way to/from school located on Mill Lane. The installation of the signals has however lead to a number of complaints from residents commenting that the signals have increased traffic congestion and queuing which regularly extends past the entrance of the Fire Station. Although facilities enable the pedestrian phase to be extended, the school has commented that this is still not long enough to allow large groups to cross the junction effectively, i.e. when going on school trips or during emergency evacuations for the school.
In view of these issues, Ward Councillors for Fortune Green and West Hampstead have requested that the Council consult the public to find out their views on whether the signals should be retained, or removed and replaced with zebra crossings.
Click here to see the consultation leaflet
CCC’s response
This response to the consultation from Camden on the proposed changes to the junction of Mill Lane / Fortune Green Road / West End Lane is from Camden Cycling Campaign, the local borough group of London Cycling Campaign (LCC). We have approximately 650 members and represent the interests of cyclists living or working in the borough of Camden. We arrived at our decision by consulting our members on-line.
CCC support the removal of the traffic lights, mainly because of the queueing on Mill Lane. The road is quite narrow and used by buses and other heavier traffic. Queuing vehicles are usually pressed up against the kerb, making filtering through the long queues that now form impossible. This was less of a problem before the installation of the lights.
We are also generally in favour of removing lights and introducing pedestrian crossings as we feel that this makes streets more “human” and encourages safer driving. The crossings slow traffic down, whereas traffic lights can actually encourage vehicles to speed up.
We do not have an opinion as to which of the suggested layouts with pedestrian crossings would be preferable.
John Chamberlain
24th July 2009
