Gray’s Inn Road Cycling, Walking & Road Safety Proposals

Overview

Please note that the Council has become aware of an unintended error in the consultation leaflet, details of the correct information are provided below. In response to this, the consultation end date has been extended from 29 November 2019 to 20 December 2019. When you click on 'Consultation Questionnaire', below, the consultation closure date is still listed as 29 November 2019. However, please note that the consultation closure date has changed to Friday, 20 December 2019.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSALS

• We are consulting on measures to improve conditions for people cycling and walking along Gray’s Inn Road, and to provide wider road safety and public realm benefits.
• Gray’s Inn Road is already a popular cycle route and the numbers of people cycling along this road are expected to grow. It is proposed to implement protected cycle lanes in both directions on Gray’s Inn Road, from Harrison Street in the north to High Holborn in the south, to ensure high levels of comfort and safety for anyone cycling along this corridor.
• Camden’s Citizens’ Assembly on the Climate Crisis contains 17 key recommendations. One of those is installing more segregated cycle lanes, which this scheme contributes towards.
• The Council is proposing to improve the junctions of Gray’s Inn Road with (a) Sidmouth Street/Ampton Street and (b) Guilford Street/Calthorpe Street to provide both safer cycling and pedestrian facilities.
• Additional improvements for people walking along Gray’s Inn Road are also proposed by introducing ‘continuous’ footways at side road junctions to highlight pedestrian priority.
• We have aimed to minimise the impact on bus journey times by consolidating bus stops, whilst retaining high levels of accessibility to buses on the corridor and relocating bus stops into the carriageway. Traffic modelling of the proposed improvements on Gray’s Inn Road indicates the proposed changes would result in bus journey time improvements.
• To facilitate these measures, parking and loading facilities will be rationalised along the corridor, with additional amendments on side roads leading into Gray’s Inn Road.

Further detail on the proposed changes is provided in the following documents, attached below:

- Consultation Leaflet

- Consultation Drawing

- Parking and Loading Plan

- Table of Parking and Loading Changes

- Market Traders' Bays Plan

- Bus Stop Plan

- Visualisations of the Proposed Changes

Videos showing an illustrative representation of the predicted network performance and junction operation in the AM and PM Peaks, which is based on detailed survey data and modelling, are also attached, below.

The Council will be pleased to hear your views on the proposals we are consulting upon as well as any alternative suggestions or objections you may have to any aspect of the scheme. Please respond to this consultation by completing the questionnaire, below, by  20 December 2019.

Details about unintended error within consultation leaflet

On Page 5, under the heading ‘3. Priority for pedestrians at side roads and upgraded wayfinding’,  the consultation leaflet states that “the two existing zebras crossings, within close proximity, between Coley Street and Elm Street (Northington Street) are being rationalised into a single new zebra crossing.”

This is incorrect. The Council’s proposal is to retain both zebra crossings, but to relocate each 5m from its existing location in order to accommodate the proposed new road layout.

The correct proposals for these crossings are shown on the consultation drawing accompanying the consultation leaflet and accessible with the consultation material online.

The Council apologises for any inconvenience caused by the unintended error and this correction. In light of this, the consultation period is now extended until midnight on Friday, 20 December 2019 for two reasons:

1. If you have not yet responded to the consultation, to allow you more time to do so;
    
2. If you have already responded, to allow you time to add to or amend your original response, should you wish to do this, through submitting a new response to replace your original one. If you have already responded to the consultation and submit an amended response, please tell us that this is a second reply from you, intended to replace your original consultation response.  This will assist us greatly when we analyse the consultation responses. Please note, if you submit two responses, we will only consider the points/ views set out in your second response.

Please do contact us at transportconsultations@camden.gov.uk if you have any questions regarding this.

What happens next

Following the consultation period, the responses received in this consultation will be analysed and used to inform a decision report that will be presented to the Cabinent Member for a Sustainable Camden. The Cabinet Member will take a decision on how the scheme progresses.