News from the Streets August 2026 -incomplete DRAFT

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Progress on major projects under construction

Haverstock Hill scheme upgrade completed

The Haverstock Hill cycle link runs for just over a kilometer between Prince of Wales Road and Pond Street. The trial scheme with wand-protected cycle tracks was completed in 2022. The permanent scheme is now virtually complete.

The cycle lanes are implemented as stepped tracks from Belsize Avenue (near the north end of the scheme) almost down to Englands Lane; and at the southern end from Steele’s Road onwards. In between, the lanes are mainly protected by kerbs.

On the northbound side, the trial scheme included three SUBBs (shared use bus boarders); two of these have now been replaced by Bus Stop Bypasses. But as in the trial scheme, all the bus stops on the southbound side are ‘in line bus stops’ (if a bus is present cyclists can either wait or ride round the bus. See this photo.). We don’t like this decision but Camden says that on a steep down hill, the alternatives are unsafe. See here for a map of bus stops on cycle routes in Camden

1. Three young women enjoying a ride up the hill

The map on the right shows the location of the photos in this post.

1. Joy of cycling
2, 3 Floating parking
4-7. Side road junctions

Floating parking : On the west (uphill) side of Haverstock Hill opposite Belsize Park station where the footways are very wide, some of the width has been used to provide two strips of floating parking and to accommodate a bus stop bypass.

Boundary between cycle track and footway, The examples in photos 2 and 3 show a very attractive approach to making a visible boundary between the cycle track and the footway by using a distinctive type of kerb,. In Camden’s earlier schemes, e.g. Prince of Wales Road eastbound the footway was bounded by the usual kerb and the cycle track was lower and coloured black. This style of separator has been used in other recent schemes e.g. on St Pancras Way, on Chalk Farm Road and on York Way but this is the first time that we have commented on it. We definitely approve: apologies for being so slow to comment.

2. Floating parking with buffer. Belsize Grove – Howitt Road

3. Glenloch Road – Old Town Hall floating parking and Bus Stop Bypass

Side Road junctions. Almost all of these junctions now have a continuous footway to the left of the cycle track and a ‘Dutch kerb’ on the right.

A so-called Dutch kerb is an entrance block that allow safe vehicular crossing over the cycle carriageway when accessing side roads and even entrances to buildings, from main roads where drivers need to cross cycle lanes and footways. Drivers have to negotiate the change in level, thus slowing traffic speed and making it safer and easier for people travelling on foot and by bicycle in the very busy streets we have in Camden.

The first Dutch kerb we saw in Camden was in Bloomsbury Way (2023), soon followed by one on Prince of Wales Road. A year later (2024) a few appeared in York Way and one in Red Lion Square. Then last summer we saw one on the C50. They work perfectly with stepped tracks which are at footway level (see photos 4 and 5 below). In photo 7, the cycle lane changes to stepped track before passing Parkhill Road and reverts to kerb protection soon after; photo 1 shows the kerb protection after the junction.

6. Junction of Parkhill Road (opposite) with kerb protection on the right

5. Junction at Howitt Road opposite Belsize Park station

7. North of Belsize Avenue outide Rosary School

Conclusion or Summary for H Hill

Finishing touches and smaller projects

Prince of Wales Road

The permanemt scheme for the eastbound side was completed late in 2023. Recently Camden has fixed a few remaining loose ends.

Side Road junctions on the eastbound cycle track. The whole length of the eastbound track is implemented as dropped kerbs: so it fits well with Dutch kerbs. As continuous footways had already been implemented at Talacre Road and Ryland Road as part of the westbound scheme. these were not upgraded when the trial eastbound scheme was made permanent. But three years later Dutch kerbs had become part of Camden’s toolkit. The new junction is particularly welcome at Talacre Road where considerable numbers of motor vehicles cut through to Kentish Town Road when it is ‘out of hours’ for the school street in Holmes Road.

Ryland Road Dutch kerb seen from the westbound cycle lane

Finishing touches to the junction at Grafton Road/Castlehaven Road. The drawings for the final scheme included a design for this junction but the work was delayed due to signals (!). On the east-west alignment cyclists are provided with a dedicated signal stage. These signals have been working since Spring 2025. The upgrade at Angler’s Lane approach to allow cycles to turn right into Prince of Wales Road appeared in May 2025.