Green Mobility Hubs Phase 2 - Somers Town Safe and Healthy Streets Consultation

Overview

We want our streets to be safe spaces for you to walk and cycle for every day trips, for businesses to be able to flourish, to reduce carbon emissions from road transport and for you to be breathing cleaner air. We want to ensure that when we invest in our streets it provides a lasting legacy of greener, safer, healthier travel, helping us deliver our wider Transport Strategy objectives.

The Green Mobility Hub programme aims to add up to 7 Hubs around Somers Town. Phase 1 was consulted on recently, and this document sets out plans for Phase 2 of the scheme. Our proposal is to install permanent Green Mobility Hubs on Doric Way and Chalton Street, as part of the Somers Town Future Neighbourhood 2030 programme funded by the Mayor of London.

A map of all the transport projects proposed as part of the Somers Town Future Neighbourhoods 2030 Programme is provided at the bottom of this page. To share your views on these proposed changes, please click on the link to the consultation questionnaire at the bottom of this webpage.

Information on other transport projects in the Regent's Park Estate Area and Somers Town area are available on the Euston Engagement Hub Commonplace  and Somers Town Future Neighbourhoods Commonplace .

Why your views matter

Your views matter to support us in making a decision on whether to install Green Mobility Hubs on Doric Way and Chalton Street.

Proposals being consulted on

At each Green Mobility Hub location, we are proposing some parking changes to create space for the new Green Mobility Hub elements. We are also proposing some changes to the location of some of the street trader designation areas (Market Trader pitches) on Chalton Street, between Euston Road and Weir Passage. These changes are summarised in the table below.

Doric Way

This mobility hub would be located at the western end of Doric Way, just east of the junction with Eversholt Street. Currently there is an existing well-used Santander Cycles Bike Dock here, and a mobility hub would provide the opportunity to expand and incorporate other types of transport and improvements to the look and feel of this location. The existing Santander docking station on Doric Way would be incorporated into the proposed Hub.

The following new infrastructure features are proposed on Doric Way and at the junction with Eversholt Street:

• A new 1.5m wide cycle lane and cyclist protection at the junction with Euston Road to improve safety for cyclists in this area allowing cycling in both directions.
• Changing the uncontrolled crossing on Doric Way, east of the Santander docking station, to a raised zebra crossing, making it easier for pedestrians to cross the road by the Hub and improving accessibility for those on wheels or using a pushchair
• A new continuous crossing at the junction of Doric Way and Eversholt Street to improve pedestrian priority and safety (see photo guide for example)
• Relocating the existing disabled bay from its position close to the junction, to further down Doric Way, to protect the junction area and improve road safety
• Relocating an existing loading bay from its position close to the junction with Eversholt Street to further down Doric Way, to protect the junction area and help ensure Hub features are easily accessible from Eversholt Street
• Adding a short section of double yellow line with kerb blips close to the junction with Eversholt Street, to prevent parking and loading close to the junction and therefore improve road safety for all users

In addition, the following new transport/planting changes are proposed at the Doric Way Hub:

• A new e-scooter and cycle hire bay, providing easy access to these services and reducing street clutteri by providing a dedicated area
• New cycle parking stands to improve cycling provision for residents and visitors
• A cycle repair stand to help cyclists maintain their bikes while out and about
• A new car club vehicle and bay to provide transport options for residents who don’t own a vehicle
• Two new bike hangars, providing secure cycle parking for residents
• New Mobility Hub plinths with direction information, to identify the Hub and help people use the services and navigate the local area on foot and by bike
• New planting, greening and rain garden features, to enhance the area and provide places for residents and visitors to meet, stop and rest

Chalton Street

This Green Mobility Hub would provide a number of amenities for the local area. Chalton Street is a busy part of Somers Town, with a wide range of businesses including offices, shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants and other amenities.

It is also home to the Chalton Street Market, an important London market with a long history. The market is operational from Wednesday to Friday between 7am and 7pm. The majority of market trading takes place behind barriers blocking vehicle access on Chalton Street between the Somers Town Coffee House pub to the North, and Albertini’s restaurant to the south, between 9am and 4pm. The proposed Green Mobility Hub would be at the very southern extent of the market, just before Euston Road.

The hub on Chalton Street has been designed to work positively with the market, contribute to improving the feel of Chalton Street and provide high quality shared transport services. It would also draw people into Chalton Street and the market. This design proposes additional features which could improve the market such as seating and planting for visitors, relocating trader bays close to Euston Road to make them more visible, and new on-street trader storage.

The following changes are proposed on Chalton Street and at the junction with Euston Road:

• Partial relocation of the existing 26m strip of street trading designation (Market Trader Bays) between Euston Road and Weir Passage. The street trader designation will be relocated closer to Euston Road, to increase visibility and help attract patrons from this end of the street. The bays would continue to be operational during marker trading hours (between 9am and 4pm Wednesday to Friday). Associated electric infrastructure would also be relocated.

In addition, the following new mobility/greening features are proposed at the Chalton Street Hub:

• A new e-scooter and cycle hire bay, providing easy access to these services and reducing street clutter by providing a dedicated area
• New cycle parking stands to improve cycling provision for residents and visitors
• A new shared e-cargo bike and bay, which can be hired by local businesses, residents or market traders to help transport goods or people
• A bike hangar, providing secure cycle parking for residents
• New Mobility Hub plinths, and wayfinding information, to identify the Hub and help people use the services and navigate the local area on foot and by bike
• New planting, greening, seating and rain garden features, to enhance the area and provide places for residents and visitors to the street and market to meet, stop, eat and rest
• Drinking water fountain and cycle maintenance stand – subject to further investigation as part of the detailed design

All features of the Mobility Hub are subject to further feasibility investigation as part of the detailed design process.

A cargo bike is proposed at the Chalton Street site. Residents and businesses would be able to hire the cargo bike and use for transporting shopping, passengers (such as children) and other goods. The e-cargo bike is looked after by a “host”, who could be a nearby business, or resident, and who is responsible for changing the battery and monitoring the bike. If you are interested in helping to deliver this potential service for your community by becoming a cargo bike host please contact us at safetravel@camden.gov.uk stating “Mobility Hub cargo bike hosting” and the Hub location you are nearest to. Hosts get 20hrs free use a month and, in some cases, can add branding/advertising to the vehicle.

More information about these proposals is also available in the Information Sheet and scheme design plans at the bottom of this webpage. We have also included a photo guide that shows what some of the features being consulted on would look like.

An illustration of what the proposed changes could look like, showing Chalton Street as an example, is provided below and at the bottom of this webpage. There is a further illustration of the Doric Way scheme also at the bottom of this page.

The changes proposed to Chalton Street’s street trader designation (Market Trader bays) are being consulted on alongside the proposals for the Green Mobility Hub, and this consultation will inform the decision-making processes associated with the licencing of these trader bays changes. Camden colleagues involved with the operation of the Market have fed in their views and those of Traders and the Somers Town community. Views shared included a desire for the market to be more visible from Euston Road, through having traders bays closer to Euston Road, the importance of the Market to Somers Town residents and the desire to protect and enhance the Market.

What happens next

After the consultation, a decision report will be produced and published online, via our website. Local residents and stakeholders will be notified of the outcome. The report will consider a broad range of information including consultation responses, feedback received, relevant policies and other data/information including surveys and monitoring information.

All of this information will be considered in making a recommendation in the report about whether or not to implement the scheme. Should a decision be made to proceed, we would implement the changes under a permanent Traffic Management Order (TMO). If approved for construction, we would then carefully monitor the changes to make sure it operates effectively.

The decision making processes required for making alterations to Market Trader bays, including changes to licensing, will be conducted in tandem with the decision making processes required for the transport proposals.

For information on how we will use data collected from this consultation read our privacy statement: Data protection, privacy and cookies - Camden Council

What happens next

After the consultation, a decision report will be produced and published online, via our website. Local residents and stakeholders will be notified of the outcome. The report will consider a broad range of information including consultation responses, feedback received, relevant policies and other data/information including surveys and monitoring information.

All of this information will be considered in making a recommendation in the report about whether or not to implement the scheme. Should a decision be made to proceed, we would implement the changes under a permanent Traffic Management Order (TMO). If approved for construction, we would then carefully monitor the changes to make sure it operates effectively.