Marchmont Street Proposed Pedestrian And Environmental Improvements

Overview

Marchmont Street is an important local neighbourhood centre in Camden. It also forms part of a key pedestrian route between King’s Cross and St Pancras International stations and the Bloomsbury area.

Marchmont Street is used by large numbers of residents, commuters and visitors as a result of its transport, employment, education and tourism links. It will also be a busy area during the Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2012, with a significant increase in the number of visitors expected in Bloomsbury.

We have developed proposals for improving the streetscape following workshops with the local community to understand the views of residents, businesses and visitors.

Why your views matter

High numbers of pedestrians pass through Marchmont Street each day and in some sections the footway is narrow and congested. Some parts of Marchmont Street are also visually uninviting for pedestrians and links to the surrounding area - including Brunswick Centre and Russell Square station -require improvement.

 In some parts the road carriageway is unnecessarily wide, creating an unattractive and more vehicle dominated environment.  Also, one-way streets in the area can sometimes make it difficult for cyclists to travel in the area.

 We have a number of proposals which we would like your views on.  They include how we could improve Marchmont Street such as:

• Make footways wider and remove unnecessary street clutter where appropriate to create more space for pedestrians.

• As traffic speeds and volumes are relatively low, and to allow us to widen the footway between

Tavistock Place and Bernard Street, it is proposed to remove the southbound cycle lane and integrate cyclists with other traffic.

• Provide new cycle parking facilities on Marchmont Street where appropriate.

• Upgrade street lighting along Marchmont Street.