CENTRAL LONDON CYCLE GRID - PRATT ST AND DELANCEY ST PROPOSED WALKING AND CYCLING IMPROVEMENTS

Overview

In March 2013, the Mayor of London launched his vision for cycling in London.  A major element of the vision is the proposed Central London Cycle Grid – a network of cycle routes through Central London and the City, making it more attractive to people who don’t cycle and safer for the increasing numbers who do.  Encouraging more people to cycle is a key objective for Camden Council helping reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality and improve the health of our residents.

By the end of 2015, Camden Council is due to complete a new north / south walking and cycling corridor along Royal College Street and Pancras Road that links Kentish Town to Kings Cross.  The Council would also like to create a connecting east / west walking and cycling corridor that links Camden Town to Regents Park and the planned Cycle Superhighway 11. Currently there is no direct, safe cycle route from east to west or from west to east across Camden Town and beyond. Making these east / west trips is therefore difficult and the existing routes are not attractive to existing cyclists and discourages new people from cycling.  

Pratt Street and Delancey Street has been selected as the best route for this east / west corridor as it avoids the busiest junctions on Camden High Street and Camden Road and the streets have the space to provide safe and attractive cycle facilities in both directions.

Why your views matter

This leaflet provides details about proposals for Pratt Street and Delancey Street between St Pancras Way and Mornington Terrace.  Proposals for the section between Parkway and Regents Park are planned for consultation later in 2015/16.

Residents have raised concerns to the Council about high traffic speeds and road safety on Pratt Street and Delancey Street. Our analysis has shown that road safety is an issue that needs to be addressed as there have been 22 traffic collisions within a 3 year period up until the end of December 2014 (the most recent data available). This includes 6 serious collisions and 16 slight collisions.  5 of the collisions involved cyclists being struck by motor vehicles and 3 of the collisions involved pedestrians being struck by motor vehicles.  Speed surveys undertaken indicate that the 85^th percentile speed on Delancey Street is 27 mph and on Pratt Street it is 22.6 mph. These surveys indicate that speeding is an issue on Delancey Street.  It is likely that reducing traffic speeds will reduce both the number of collisions and severity of injury to casualties on these roads.

This data suggests that cyclists and pedestrians would benefit from cycle lanes, better crossings and measures to encourage other traffic to drive slower. Our experience from Royal College Street shows that narrowing the road by introducing cycle lanes has reduced traffic speeds which have helped reduce casualties significantly.

Between Bayham Street and Parkway, traffic volumes are relatively high. It is therefore proposed in this section of Pratt Street and Delancey Street to introduce protected cycle lanes in both directions along with safer pedestrian crossings. The section of Pratt Street between St Pancras Way and Bayham Street has relatively low traffic volumes and therefore fully protected cycle lanes are not proposed.

Delancey Street  between Mornington Terrace and Camden High Street

The proposed changes are shown on the attached drawings and include the following key changes:

• East and westbound protected cycle lanes on Delancey Street from Mornington Terrace to Camden High Street.
• The cycle lanes would narrow the road for motor vehicles so that the whole of Delancey Street would have one traffic lane. 
• Relocate existing parking bays on the north side of Delancey Street to the outside of the eastbound cycle lane. A 0.5 metre buffer area would be installed to reduce conflict between cyclists and people getting in and out of vehicles.
• The number of residents parking bays would be slightly increased. No parking or loading would be allowed on the south side of Delancey Street between Arlington Road and Mornington Terrace.
• The junctions of Delancey Street with Arlington Road, Albert Street and Mornington Terrace would be made narrower and the road would be raised to the same level as the pavement to reduce the speed of traffic entering and leaving the streets. The pavements would be widened (where possible), and the crossing distance for pedestrians would be reduced.
• The bus stops on Delancey Street would be changed to provide continuous cycle facilities for westbound cyclists and to make bus journeys quicker and more reliable. The cycle lane would be designed to continue through the bus stop with space for bus passengers and cyclists to pass each other safely.
• Bus stop CT (located near Arlington Road) would merge with Bus stop CU (located near Mornington Terrace). These stops are currently only 150 metres apart which is below the normal bus stop spacing.
• Install loading bay on the south side of Delancey Street next to Camden High Street. Loading would be allowed between 10am and 2pm, Monday to Sunday. The westbound cycle lane would not be physically protected but no traffic would be allowed to enter the lane (except to access the loading bay).
• Install loading bay on Arlington Road next to Delancey Street. Loading would be allowed between 7am-7pm, Monday to Sunday.
• A new safe cycle crossing (with traffic lights) would be installed at the junction of Camden High Street with Pratt Street and Delancey Street to allow eastbound cyclists to continue cycling to Pratt Street or turn left onto Camden High Street.
• Separate proposals are under development by Transport for London for Camden High Street and these will be subject to public consultation at a later date.

Pratt Street  between Camden High Street and Bayham Street

The proposed changes are shown on the attached drawings and include the following key changes:

• East and westbound protected cycle lanes on Pratt Street from Camden High Street to Bayham Street.
• The right turn from Pratt Street into Camden High Street would be banned to allow eastbound cycles to safely cross Camden High Street. Traffic that currently makes this right turn would be diverted via Bayham Street and Crowndale Road to access Camden High Street.
• Bus route 31 would be diverted via Greenland Street to access Camden High Street. Parking and loading would not be allowed on the south side of Greenland Street and one taxi bay closest to junction with Camden High Street would be removed to provide space for the bus to use the street.
• Relocate existing shared loading and disabled bays on the north side of Pratt Street by No.5 Pratt Street to the outside of the eastbound cycle lane. Separate bays for loading and disabled parking would be introduced. Loading would be allowed between 7am-7pm, Monday to Sunday. The disabled bays would allow parking for blue badge users Monday to Sunday for a maximum of two hours. The cycle lane and the parking areas would be at the same level to make it easy for businesses to load and disabled drivers to access the pavement.
• The junction of Pratt Street with Bayham Street would be changed to provide a new type of zebra crossing with separate space for pedestrians to cross and for cyclists to continue east. The pavements on Bayham Street and Pratt Street would be widened to provide more space for pedestrians and to encourage other traffic to drive slowly by the zebra crossing.

Pratt Street between Bayham Street and Royal College Street

The proposed changes are shown on the attached drawings and include the following key changes:

• The section of Pratt Street between Bayham Street and Royal College Street is not wide enough to have two-way traffic and protected cycle lanes in both directions. This section of Pratt Street is therefore proposed to be converted to one-way eastbound for traffic and two-way for cycling. The change would reduce traffic on Pratt Street including outside the primary school and allow cycling to be safer without the need for protected cycle lanes.
• The junction of Pratt Street with College Place would be made narrower and the road would be raised to the same level as the pavement to reduce the speed of traffic entering and leaving the streets. The pavements would be widened (where possible), and the crossing distance for pedestrians would be reduced.

Pratt Street between Royal College Street and St Pancras Way

The proposed changes are shown on the attached drawings and include the following key changes:

• The section of Pratt Street between Royal College Street and St Pancras Way is currently one-way eastbound for traffic, a westbound protected cycle lane would be introduced in this section.
• The existing parking bays would be relocated to the south of the street and to the outside of the westbound cycle lane. A 0.5 metre buffer area would be installed to reduce conflict between cyclists and people getting in and out of vehicles.  
• The number of residents parking bays would be slightly increased and new cycle parking areas would be introduced. No parking or loading would be allowed on the north side of Pratt Street between Royal College Street and St Pancras Way.
• Install loading bay outside the Golden Lion pub. Loading would be allowed between 7am-7pm, Monday to Sunday.  The cycle lane and the loading area would be at the same level to make it easy for businesses to load.
• The junction of Pratt Street with St Pancras Way would be made narrower and the road would be raised to the same level as the pavement to reduce the speed of traffic entering and leaving the streets. The pavements would be widened (where possible), and the crossing distance for pedestrians would be reduced.

What happens next

While it will not be possible to reply to you individually, all comments will be taken into account. 

The Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Transport and Planning will make a decision in November 2015 on whether or not to proceed with the scheme and you will be informed via the council’s website of the outcome of this consultation within three months, where possible. 

Under the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, we may not treat your response confidentially, as it will be available for public inspection.  Please only write to us about the consultation issue.  If you want to comment on any other matter, please use a separate letter.