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On February 12th Camden announced a consultation on major improvements to the junctions at Gray’s Inn Road/Theobalds Road/Clerkenwell Road and at Clerkenwell Road/Rosebery Avenue together with segregated cycle lanes on Clerkenwell Road from Gray’s Inn Road to Farringdon Road.
And on February 15th, the engagement process for the Holborn Liveable Neighbourhood opened on Commonplace. Full public consultation is planned for 2025 but in the meantime, Camden have started consulting on small projects in the area. They are calling these “STARter” projects and we have a web page here where we are listing them along with our responses.
Background
We have campaigned for safer cycling in the Holborn area since our early days and finally we are seeing some progress. This is a summary of the history of cycle-related issues in the Holborn area and of the plans and aspirations for the future.
The area discussed corresponds roughly to that shown in the latest Liveable Neighbourhood project area and covers the roads bounded by Gower Street to the west, Russell Square and Guilford Street to the north, Gray’s Inn Road to the east and Lincoln’s Inn fields to the south (see plan below). It includes the notorious Holborn gyratory and its approaches, where eight cyclists have been killed since 2008. We will also include Clerkenwell Road from Gray’s Inn Road to the borough boundary.
History of Cycle-Related Issues in Holborn Area
- 2007: Initial meetings on the “Bloomsbury Vision”.
- September 24 2008: Cyclist killed at the Southampton Row/Vernon Place junction.
- November 11 2009: Cyclist killed at the Southampton Row/Vernon Place junction.
- July 15 2013: Alan Neve killed on High Holborn east of the tube station, tipper truck.
- November 9 2013: Francis Golding killed on Vernon Place, left-turning motor vehicle at the Southampton Row junction. After this death, the coroner sent a ‘Prevention of future deaths’ report to Camden Council.
- January 2014: Bloomsbury Way bus lane opened to cyclists. Article here.
- January 2014: Talk to Camden Cyclists by Andrea Casalotti “Clerkenwell Boulevard”.
- March 2014: Talk to Camden officers by Jean Dollimore “Clerkenwell Boulevard”. Camden agree to sponsor visualisation work.
- June 2015: Completion of visualisation study by John Dales of Urban Movement. Presentation here.
- February 6 2015: Federica Baldassa killed on Vernon Place, left-turning motor vehicle at the Bloomsbury Square junction.
- April 2015: CCC publish Vision for the Theobalds – Clerkenwell cycle route. Web page by Jean Dollimore here.
- August 15 2018: Dr Peter Fisher killed on High Holborn near to Newton Street. He was the seventh cyclist to die in the capital in 2018.
- October 2018: Measures on Vernon Place, including left-turn ban, implemented. Article here.
- Late 2018: Princeton Street closed at Red Lion Square. Article here.
- March 2019: Initial plans for the Holborn Liveable Neighbourhood published. TfL allocate £10 million. Report here. Funding withdrawn in 2020.
- Summer 2020: Further road closures round Red Lion Square create a mini-LTN. Report here.
- September 4 2021: Dr Marta Krawiec killed on Southampton Row. Left-turning HGV. Driver later found guilty of death by dangerous driving.
- October 2021: Interim safety measures at the junction of Southampton Row and Theobalds Road. Report here.
- November 2021: New proposals for permanent scheme at the junction of Southampton Row and Theobalds Road. Report here.
- March 1 2022: Shatha Ali killed on High Holborn opposite the tube station. HGV.
- August 2022: Permanent scheme at the junction of Southampton Row and Theobalds Road installed.
- October 2022: Camden publish proposals for High Holborn, Drake Street and Procter Street. Report here.
- December 2022: Proposals for High Holborn, Drake Street and Procter Street approved.
- June 2023: TfL release funds for work to restart on the Holborn Liveable Neighbourhood.
Current Status
On February 12th Camden announced a consultation on improvements to the junctions at Gray’s Inn Road/Theobalds Road/Clerkenwell Road and at Clerkenwell Road/Rosebery Avenue together with segregated cycle lanes on Clerkenwell Road from Gray’s Inn Road to Farringdon Road, from where the London Borough of Islington is expected to design a scheme for the rest of Clerkenwell and onwards via Old Street.
West of Gray’s Inn Road, Theobald’s Road will be included in the Liveable Neighbourhood. However, we have asked Camden to work on the eastern part, between the gyratory and Gray’s Inn Road, in advance of the Liveable Neighbourhood scheme.
On the Holborn gyratory, currently (February 2024), work is going ahead on Procter Street to put in a protected southbound cycle lane behind planted areas. This follows work done in late 2021 and summer 2022 to improve safety at the junction of Southampton Row and Theobalds Road (see History above).
This project will be completed by work on High Holborn at the junctions with Proctor Street and Southampton Row.
Future Plans
Design work has restarted on the Liveable Neighbourhood scheme with consultation expected in early 2025.