Red Lion and Dane Street Safe and Healthy Street Scheme

Overview

Proposals to make the trial motor traffic restrictions on Red Lion Street and Dane Street permanent, and new proposals to create a pedestrian & cycle only zone on Red Lion Street, and to restrict southbound motor traffic on Bedford Row at the junction with Sandland Street.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how people in Camden live, travel and work. Since the start of the pandemic many of us have been spending more time closer to home, making our neighbourhoods more important than ever. We want our streets to be safe spaces for you to walk and cycle, for children to get to and from school safely and healthily, for businesses to be able to flourish and for you to be breathing cleaner air.

As 69% of households in Camden do not own a car and public transport capacity remains much lower than before the pandemic, we know that safe and easy walking, cycling and scooting routes are more important than ever. Supporting and encouraging those who are able to walk and cycle, by creating safer streets will ensure that there is more space available on public transport and on our roads for those who need it the most.

To help respond to the transport challenges on our streets caused by the pandemic, and in line with our Camden Transport Strategy and Climate Action Plan, we have been making changes across Camden as part of our Safe and Healthy Streets Programme.

This included making trial changes on Red Lion Street and Dane Street in June 2020. These changes prevented traffic using local streets as a cut-through between main roads by installing a motor vehicle restriction (via no Motor Vehicle signage and bollards) on Red Lion Street at the junction between Red Lion Street and Princeton Street, and on Dane Street between Eagle Street and Red Lion Square.

This consultation now asks local residents and stakeholders to give their views on whether the trial scheme should be made permanent after the end of the 18-month trial period.

We also want to capture your views on the following additional proposals in the area:

• Creating a 30m pedestrian and cycle only zone on Red Lion Street, south of the junction with Princeton Street, with widened footways, a paved cycle track, new trees, cycle stands and signage.
• Implementing kerbside changes to prevent parked vehicles blocking two-way vehicle movements on Dane Street either side of the through-traffic restriction.
• Restricting southbound motor traffic movements on Bedford Row at the junction with Sandland Street, enforced through signage and a pavement buildout which would create new public space including new trees and seating areas, new cycle stands and a southbound cycle track. This would significantly reduce the pedestrian crossing distance.

About the Safe and Healthy Streets Scheme

We know from listening to local people and from conducting traffic counts in the area, that there was a high volume of motor vehicles using Red Lion Street and Dane Street as a cut-through between Theobalds Road and Procter Street / High Holborn to avoid the signals at Theobalds Road and Procter Street. Residents told us that the high volume of traffic cutting through made local streets in the area unsafe for residents, school children and people walking and cycling. In order to respond to these issues, we implemented a Safe and Healthy Streets scheme as trial on Red Lion Street and Dane Street, under an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO).

The details on the trial scheme can be viewed in the decision report which can be found here.

During the trial period of the scheme we have been collecting monitoring data which can be viewed in detail in the monitoring data sheet in the Related Information links at the end of this page. Headlines include:

• Motor vehicle levels are generally lower on monitored residential roads within the Red Lion Street and Dane Street Safe & Healthy Streets scheme following its introduction; as well as on boundary or nearby roads which were monitored.
• While there has been an overall reduction in cycle levels in the area compared to pre-pandemic levels, there has also been a significant increase of 377% in Lime hire bike usage between January - May 2019 and January - May 2021. In May 2021, Lime also recorded the highest number of e-bike rides ever within the Red Lion Street and Dane Street Safe & Healthy Streets scheme.

Based on the monitoring data and the feedback received from residents and stakeholders during the trial period, we are now consulting on making the trial schemes permanent as follows:

• Making permanent the through-traffic restriction to motor vehicles (except emergency services) on Red Lion Street at the junction of Red Lion Street and Princeton Street.
• Making permanent the through-traffic restriction to motor vehicles (except emergency services) on Dane Street between Eagle Street and Red Lion Square.

We also want to capture your views on the following additional proposals in the area:

• Creating a 30m pedestrian and cycle only zone on Red Lion Street.
• Implementing kerbside changes to prevent parked vehicles blocking two-way vehicle movements on Dane Street.
• Restricting southbound motor traffic movements on Bedford Row at the junction with Sandland Street.

Overall, the proposed changes for the schemes in the area are intended to bring the following area-wide benefits:

• Reduced through traffic and enhanced pedestrian and cycle safety in each location
• Planting of up to eight new trees (subject to surveys) 
• Creating new areas of public space
• Around 13 new cycle stands 
• Creating potential opportunities for outdoor dining on Red Lion Street subject to licensing requests/approvals
• No net loss of residential parking and retention of sufficient paid for parking provision
• Increased pedestrian and cyclists safety at junctions 

Full details can be found in the Information Sheet and Proposed  Plans links in the Related Information section below.

Why your views matter

This consultation will help further inform, alongside monitoring data collected and relevant policies, the Council’s decision as to whether, at the end of the trial period, the experimental scheme should be made permanent, modified or allowed to lapse.

The previous changes were implemented as a trial under an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO) for 18 months. We committed to undertaking a public consultation after around 12 months of the trial scheme, which is now being carried out, to seek the views of local residents and stakeholders  as to whether or not the schemes should be made permanent after the end of the 18-month trial period. 

The final decision on whether to implement the proposed permanent measures will be made based on the feedback received during the ETO period, the results of monitoring data, relevant policies and other information, and this public consultation.

To view the plans and find out more about what each proposal would achieve, click on the links in the Related Section at the bottom of this page.

The Council will be pleased to hear your views on the proposals as well as any alternative suggestions or objections you may have to any aspect of what we are proposing.  

What happens next

 As the consultation is now closed,your views, and those of everyone who contributes to this consultation, will be analysed and considered, alongside relevant data available on the scheme and in light of how the scheme aligns with our current policy objectives, in order to put forward recommendations on whether to proceed with the proposals. As part of the processing of the data your responses will be confidentially shared with Sustrans who are undertaking data analysis on our behalf. https://www.sustrans.org.uk/legal/privacy  A summary of this analysis will be provided in the decision report, and will be made available on the Camden Council website in due course.

If you have any other ideas for improvements to make travel safer and healthier in this area, please go to Safe Travel Camden Map  to make some suggestions.