Infrastructure gains in 2020

Several of the schemes we mention were already under construction last year. But the new Covid-19 StreetSpace funding together with simplified consultation has led to an unforeseen increase in provision for cycling during 2020. The most important improvement in Camden was the rapid expansion of the proposed borough-wide cycle network based on pop-up cycle lanes. The pop-ups are mandatory cycle lanes protected by flexible bollards.  In many cases, the road width does not allow for bus stop bypasses  – for this situation, a standard called SUBB (shared use bus boarder) was devised.

Click on any photo to see an enlargement

Protected cycle lanes in Camden

At the end of 2019: about 3.5 km of protected lanes	By the end of 2020: just over 10km of protected lanes

The two maps above show the protected cycle lanes in purple and the boundary of Camden in black. The two blue lines are on Gray’s Inn Road where a pre-Covid scheme is under construction and Chalk Farm Road– Haverstock Hill where pop-up cycle lanes are under construction.  These are extracts from our map that shows protected cycle routes in Camden in the context of other routes on quiet roads.

By the end of 2019 we had about 3.5 km protected cycle lanes in Camden:

• on the C6 route (stepped tracks) from Kentish Town down Royal College Street, Pancras Road and Midland Road then via Judd Street and quiet streets to Farringdon Road (segregated tracks); the vital Midland – Judd connection was opened in May 2019;
• on the Tavistock Place route with kerb protection on one side and orcas on the other.

and by the end of 2020, the total was just over 10km by the addition of:

• Pop-up cycle lanes (using flexible bollards) in Goodsway, York Way, the southern end of Haverstock Hill and St Pancras Way (southbound only – so counted as half the distance).
• TfL’s pop-up lanes in Hampstead Road, Oakley Square and Euston Road eastbound.
• Gower Street and Bloomsbury Way stepped tracks developed as part of the West End Project.
• Prince of Wales Road westbound was started late in 2019 and eastbound pop-up lanes were built in 2020.

Permeability

This is a long-standing campaign that refers mainly to the introduction of two-way cycling in one-way streets but also includes cycle gaps/dropped kerbs through road closures. Here is the list of the gains for 2020:

• St Augustine’s Road: a new cycle connection through the road closure at Camden Park Road was opened in June.
• Five more new permeability gains by August: entries to Gaisford Street and Patshull Road from Kentish Town Road, a route through Grove Terrace and Grove End and contraflow cycling on Mornington Terrace between Mornington Place and Mornington Street as well as two-way cycling in Laystall Street north of Rosebery Avenue.
• Two-way cycling was introduced in Cressy Road south and on Fleet Road between Cressey Road and Lawn Road.
• In November, cycle gaps were built through the road closures at St Paul’s Crescent and Linstead Road.
• In December two-way cycling was introduced in Bedford Avenue which is one-way westbound between Bloomsbury Street and Adeline Place. When the northbound motor traffic moves from Tottenham Court Road to Gower Street, the section west of Morwell Street will be closed to motor vehicles.
• Six other two-way cycling schemes agreed: Windmill Street, Warren Street west, Tottenham Street between Whitfield Street and Cleveland Street, Grafton Way between Fitzroy Street and Whitfield Street, College Place and Richbell Place. We have been unable to check whether any of these have yet been implemented.
• In addition, as mentioned above, two-way cycling is now available in Gower Street and Bloomsbury Way.

Low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs)

The Arlington Road area LTN

The Arlington Road area LTN opened in late September. It is about 1 km long and 0.3 km wide – an area of about 0.3 km².  After its being in place for a couple of months, Camden has consulted on some improvements.

The Seven Dials LTN

Other very useful road closures and mini-LTNs

During 2020, Camden has implemented 8 other road closures, some of them resulting in mini-LTNs and many of them improving conditions for cycling on a so-called quiet route and one of them enables two-way cycling.

In May, point filters based on bollards appeared in five streets:

• The closures in Clarence Way and Hartland Road together create a tiny LTN over an area surrounding Holy Trinity & St. Silas School. Camden has recently consulted on expanding this LTN by a mid-point closure on Harmood Street, the total area will be about 0.08 km².
• The closure in  Constantine Road creates a small LTN (0.14 km²) and a pleasant walking and cycling route to Hampstead Heath.
• The closure in Wilmot Place creates another tiny LTN of about 0.08 km²
• The closure in Sandall Road has cut rat-running between Camden Road and Kentish Town Road.

In July, three more appeared:

• The two new filters in Red Lion Street and Dane Street, together with another installed last year in Princeton Street eliminate through motor traffic on Red Lion Street which greatly enhances the north-south cycle and walking route from Kings Cross to Holborn.
• A filter in Prowse Street creates a tiny LTN between Camden Street and Royal College Street.

We have already mentioned two-way cycling in Laystall Street (north): this was made possible by a point closure shown in a photo above.

Finally, the magnificent scheme to restore Brunswick Square to its former glory was achieved by the removal of the roundabout and the closure of Lansdowne Terrace to motor vehicles.

These changes, as do the changes in Red Lion Street, enhance the north-south cycle and walking route from Kings Cross to Holborn.

The closure of Lansdowne Terrace should also further reduce motor traffic on Judd Street that was closed at Euston Road to complete the C6 route.

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