Windmill Street Safe and Healthy Streets Consultation - Permanent Proposals

Overview

Proposals to make trial Cycle Permeability changes to Windmill Street permanent

Photo of Windmill Street cycle contraflow looking east from Charlotte Street

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how communities in Camden live, travel and work. We want to transform our streets, so they have more safe space for everyone to walk and cycle, for children to get to and from school safely, for you to be breathing cleaner air, to reduce carbon emissions from road transport and for businesses to flourish. We want to ensure that our streets support recovery from the pandemic and provide a lasting legacy of greener, safer, healthier travel helping us to deliver our wide Transport Strategy objectives. Transport strategies and plans - Camden Council

As 69% of households in Camden do not own a car and public transport usage 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 can 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 Windmill Street in March 2021 as part of our cycle permeability programme, when we introduced measures to help cyclists travel more easily and safely in both directions on a section of street which is one-way for motor vehicles, helping make the street safer and healthier.

The rest of the information below sets out our proposals to make the current, trial scheme on Windmill Street permanent.

About the Windmill Street Cycle Permeability Scheme

The overarching aim of the cycle permeability programme is to help overcome barriers to cycling. Many streets in the borough are one-way and links between streets on desired routes and Camden’s cycle network are often severed by infrastructure, traffic restrictions or highly trafficked major roads. The cycle permeability programme aims to make more Camden streets more accessible to cyclists and provide better connections and links through measures such as adding two-way cycling on one-way streets and cut-throughs at physical road closures. A number of such permeability improvements for cyclists have been made in recent years at various locations across the borough.

Windmill Street is a street running east to west from Tottenham Court Road to Charlotte Street. Prior to the trial scheme being implemented, Windmill Street crossed and linked to the southern end of Whitfield Street, halfway along, with a short pedestrian/cycle only cut through across the footway. The eastern section of Windmill Street, between Tottenham Court Road and the cut through was two-way. The western section was one-way, westbound between Whitfield Street and Charlotte Street. Whitfield Street is a one-way street, southbound, with an existing northbound cycle contra-flow (two way cycling). A new Streatery has been introduced on Charlotte Street, close to the junction with Windmill Street.

The scheme provides a continuous and direct eastbound cycle link on Windmill Street from Charlotte Street to Whitfield Street. This has enabled cyclists to continue eastbound on Windmill Street using the cut through to Tottenham Court Road, and to access the wider cycle network at Tottenham Court Road, Gower Street, Tavistock Place and Russell Square as well as all destinations on that route such as the University of London. It also provides a connection to the existing northbound contra-flow (two way cycling) on Whitfield Street and provides improved cyclists’ access to other streets and destinations in the Fitzrovia area. 

We implemented the scheme as a trial in March 2021, under an Experimental Traffic Order which came into force on 23^rd November 2020, as part of Phase 2 of our Cycle Permeability programme. The decision report related to this Experimental Traffic Order (and others) was approved on 13^th November 2020 and is provided in the Related section at the bottom of this page.

This decision report noted that a further consultation, after approximately 12 months of the trial scheme being implemented, would take place relating to any proposed permanent changes. The trial scheme went live in March 2021 (once implemented) and during this period, the scheme has been monitored and comments from local residents and stakeholders have been received.

This consultation now asks local residents and stakeholders to give their views on whether or not the scheme should be made permanent after the end of the 18-month Experimental Traffic Order trial period.

Monitoring information

During the trial period of the scheme, we have been collecting monitoring data which can be viewed in detail in the Monitoring Factsheet provided in the Related section at the bottom of this consultation front page. Headlines include:

• Traffic levels overall on Windmill Street have increased post scheme implementation. ‘After-scheme’ traffic flows increased by 28% compared to ‘Before-scheme’ flows.
• Following scheme implementation, average speeds have increased on Windmill Street (12.4mph to 13.6mph), however still observe the 20mph speed limit.
• Cycling flows have increased post scheme implementation. Cycling levels eastbound increased by 10% and cycling levels westbound have stayed the same. Overall cycling has increased slightly (3%).
• No collisions were recorded between 1 January 2017 to 26 November 2020, before the scheme was implemented. Following the scheme implementation, no collisions have been recorded.

Feedback received during the trial

During the trial, residents and local stakeholders were able to provide feedback on the scheme. The feedback is summarised in the Monitoring Factsheet in the Related section at the bottom of this consultation front page.

What are we now consulting on?

Based on the monitoring data and the feedback received from residents and stakeholders during the trial period, and in line with policies and objectives set out in our Transport Strategy, Climate Action Plan and Clean Air Action Plan, we are now consulting on making the following trial changes permanent:

• Keeping two way cycling (contraflow cycling where the traffic only flows one-way) on Windmill Street between Charlotte Street and Whitfield Street.
• Keeping signage, on street cycle symbols and other markings to show permitted cycle route.
• Keeping waiting and loading prohibitions (double yellow lines with double kerb blips) at the junctions with Charlotte Street and Whitfield Street.
• Permanent changes to parking including removal of 4 metres of resident permit holders parking bay and 1 dockless bike hire parking bay.

You can view drawings of the changes in the Related section at the bottom of this consultation front page.

Why your views matter

As 63% of households in the area do not have access to a car and public transport usage remain 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.

The previous changes were implemented as a trial under an Experimental Traffic Order for 18 months. We committed to undertaking a public consultation after around 12 months of the trial scheme to seek the views of local residents and stakeholders on making the trial scheme permanent after the 18-month trial period.

Your views are important in providing feedback both on the proposed scheme as a whole and elements of it, and we would therefore welcome your responses on the pages that follow. To view the plans and find out more about the proposals, click on the links in the Related section at the bottom of this consultation front page.

We would 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

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 officer observations, consultation responses, feedback received during the trial period, relevant policies, and other data/information.

The report will then outline if at the end of the trial period, the experimental scheme should be made permanent, modified, or allowed to lapse. Subject to the decision to make the scheme permanent, officers will continue to monitor the scheme and will consider additional measures if necessary. These will be progressed and publicly consulted on as part of a separate scheme.