London Cycle Hire Scheme: Camden Council proposes the following:
Alfred Place
Two way street with central separating island linking Store Street and Chenies Street, both of which are one-way eastbound. Proposed Hire Station in the centre of Alfred Place near to the junction with Store Street. They propose a segregated contraflow cycle lane between Alfred Place and Tottenham Court Road together with a green cycle lane linking it to the docking station. This contraflow lane is on the wrong side of Store Street – when will they ever learn?
A detailed drawing is also available at:Alfred Place details
Belgrove Street
Belgrove Street is opposite Pancras Road across Eustion Road. It is one-way southbound. It forms part of the route linking St Pancras/Kings Cross to the east-west route in Regent Square. The hire station will be on the east side close to Euston Road. Contraflow cycling for the length of Belgrove Road.
They also offer contraflow cycling from the junction with St Chad’s Street with a short section of green surfacing with logos on approach to Euston road and 960.2 at Euston Rd. Will there be a 619 (FM/c) at St Chad’s Street?
This one approved – saw TO on 21 Oct 2010
2nd July 2010
The above was written with reference to the first version of the drawing. We have now studied the new version and have the following comments.
Although we would have preferred the contraflow to go the entire length of Belgrove Street for completeness, we agree that the new proposal is very useful. It will enable cyclists to get back to the hire station from the south. Any that want to turn left on Euston Road can walk from the hire station.
Old North Street
Old North Street is a one-way northbound street between Red LionSquare and Theobalds Road. The proposed hire station is on west side near to Red Lion Square. Drawing shows a green surfaced contraflow lane with logos between Theobalds Road and the hire station (William confirms that is all). Again on the wrong side of the road.
Will there be a 619 (FM/c) at Theobalds Road ? And a 960.2 beside the end of the hire station?
Consultation Document
This one approved – saw TO on 21 Oct 2010
Royal College Street
The proposed hire station is located on the west side of the two-way cycle track, just north of College Place. William says: the docking station will be on the footway with 0.5 M separation from the cycle track. Presumably people will walk behind it as they do with adjacent bus stop shelter. Royal College Street. They will also undertake lighting assessment to determine any additional lighting requirement.
Sardinia Street
Two way street linking south side of Lincolns Inn Fields with Kingsway. Hire station on north side opposite Sardinia House
CCC’s response
Alfred Place
It is encouraging to note that the idea of permeability seems to have been recognised by Camden Council and that opportunities are being sought to provide two-way cycling in new locations associated with cycle hire stations.
In the case of Alfred Place, contraflow cycling in Store Street would be very useful, both for access to the hire station and as another east-west route in this very busy area.
Unfortunately this scheme proposes a contraflow cycle lane on the wrong side of the road. There are many reasons why this is a bad idea:
⁃ With contraflow schemes, opposing traffic is usually on the left side of the carriageway as in normal two-way running. Pedestrians and drivers will not expect cyclists on the wrong side.
⁃ LCDS diagrams CCE B13 – 15 show contraflow lanes on the left side, as do the corresponding TAL diagrams.
⁃ In this location, the wrong-side lane will put cyclists on the fast RHS of Tottenham Court Road rather than in the bus lane; cyclists heading for Tottenham Court Road are presumably doing so to head further west and thus need to be on the left and are better off crossing from the left side of Store Street. (If they were going north they would go north on Alfred Place).
⁃ It is shortsighted to assume that there will not eventually be two-way cycling for the entire length of Store Street. After all, it is just as likely that cyclists want to access Alfred Place from Gower Street as from Tottenham Court Road. In this case a lane on the south side avoids conflicts with side streets.
⁃ Although it might appear to make the exit from Alfred Place easier, there is a conflict with traffic turning left into Alfred Place from Store Street and it is not obvious who has right of way.
All these factors force us to reject this proposal. We urge you to reconsider the design with the contraflow lane on the correct side of the road.
Belgrove Street
We think that Belgrove Street is an excellent location for a cycle hire station, being convenient for St Pancras and Kings Cross stations. It is also part of the route linking St Pancras/Kings Cross to the east-west route in Regent Square.
We are very pleased that this consultation offers two-way cycling in Belgrove Street since it will allow cyclists to bring back their hire bikes without having to ride in the very busy Euston Road, probably having to cross it twice as well.
We like the design, which seems very suitable for the quiet character of the street. We approve of the short section of green surfacing with logos on approach to Euston Road and 960.2 at Euston Rd. We assume that the No Entry
signs at the junction of St Chad’s Street will be replaced by 619s (Flying Motorcycle signs) .
Old North Street
We agree with the proposal to build a hire station in Old North Street.
As it is important that cyclists should be able to ride in both directions for convenient access to any hire station, it is very useful to offer two-way cycling in Old North Street. In particular, access from Theobalds Road is a good idea.
However, you propose another wrong-side contraflow! This will lead to the usual conflicts in the street itself and also a conflict between cyclists entering Old North street from the north and traffic exiting and turning left. This is a quiet street – we’d like to have a standard lightweight contraflow through the street from Red Lion Square to Theobalds Road.
Royal College Street
We think that Royal College Street is an excellent location for a cycle hire station, being on Camden’s main north-south cycle route.
We understand that the docking station will be on the footway with 0.5 m separation from the cycle track. Presumably people will walk behind it as they do with adjacent bus stop shelter.
Sardinia Street
We agree.