Here’s What Tfl and Islington Council have proposed
As part of the Mayor’s Cycling Vision, Islington Council has proposed the following quietways which will form part of the Central London Grid.
Routes proposed LBI for feasibility and design studies
Route 1 – Clerkenwell Road – Old Street Roundabout
Wards – Bunhill, Clerkenwell
Measures to be considered include: cycle lane segregation, alterations to bus lanes and stops along the wider sections of the route and an assessment of signalised junctions for cycle facility improvements.
Route 2 – Penton Street, Amwell Street, Rosoman Street, Skinner Street, Percival Street, Lever Street, Bath Street, Bunhill Row, Chiswell Street, Finsbury Square
Wards – Bunhill, Clerkenwell, Barnsbury
Measures may include: traffic signals alterations, traffic management improvements and cycle facility upgrades.
Route 3 – Lloyd Baker Street (& Wharton St), River St, Myddleton Sq, Chadwell St, Owen St, Colebrook Row, Gerrad Rd Burgh St, Arlington Avenue
Wards – Clerkenwell, Bunhill, St Peter’s
Measures may include: surface repairs, provision of cycle contraflow lanes and traffic management improvements.
Route 4 – Vincent Tce, Graham St, Central St, Golden Lane, Banner St, Featherstone St, Leonard St
Wards – St Peter’s, Bunhill
Measures may include: traffic management measures and the provision of improved cycle facilities.
Route 5 – St John Street
Wards – Clerkenwell, Bunhill
Measures may include: surface repairs and the provision of cycle lanes. The scheme includes a review and assessment of signalised junctions along the route.
Route 6 – Ray St, Farringdon Lane, Turnmill St, Cowcross Street
Wards – Clerkenwell
This route links to TfL’s proposed north / south cycle superhighway. Measures may include: the provision of traffic signal improvements, contraflow cycle lane provision and road safety improvements along the route.
Route 7 – Wharfedale Rd, Killick St, Collier St, Donegal St
Wards – Caledonian, Barnsbury
Measures may include: a road closure, cycle permeability, segregated cycle lanes and TfL signal upgrades.
Here’s what we have said to TfL (Feb 14th 2014)
We have set up a google spreadsheet [Tom’s Grid thoughts] with our thoughts about each of the routes in the grid. In addition there are recommended interventions plus some additional routes. It’s not easy to view so we’d be happy to provide it in a different format. Our views about the Islington section of the Central London grid are slow evolving and we expect to update this speadsheet over the next few weeks.
We also have a [this] web page where we expect to collect more comments over the next few weeks.
Cycling on the vast majority of the streets is very unpleasant and scary. While it might not be all that dangerous statistically speaking on all roads, many people are put off because of cars and vans parking in the path of cyclists, people unexpectedly opening doors, people in cars going too fast down side streets to avoid main roads, and the general speed, noise, and pollution that roads with lots of traffic have.
We like bold interventions such as filtered permeability which can be very cost effective, or alternatively light (Royal College Street style) segregation that enables people of all ages and abilities to get on to a bike. We do not like the small incremental changes often favoured by Islington Council.
We like the concept of the Clerkenwell Boulevard advocated by Andrea Casalotti. We recognise that this is a large scheme with significant challenges but there are enormous rewards especially for the many Hackney Cyclists that cycle from Old Street Roundabout into Central London.
Related links
Here is a google map with the routes overlaid. Purple is what LBI proposed to us, Orange is what Tom thinks we should add, light blue is key routes connecting into Islington.
London Cycling Campaign’s response to Central London Grid Feb 14th 2014
Rather “underwhelmed” by this, especially with the inclusion of surface repairs – shouldn’t these should be funded by another budget?
I don’t mind surface repairs coming out of the cycling budget if through motorised traffic is subequently banned from that road. The cycling budget is a one-off and should not be used to repair a road, only to have the road ripped up by more vehicles.
Very disappointing proposals. Parts of route 2&3 (in particular Penton – Rosoman and Lloyd Baker St) is currently a taxi and white van man rat run. There is no justification at all in keeping these roads open to through traffic. Through traffic is amply served to the north by Caledonian Rd and Upper St, to the south by the A1 and Farringdon Rd. East-West traffic should be on Pentonville Rd. Amwell-Penton-Rosoman etc. joins up with the very popular back street route through Barnsbury further north – a residential area with schools etc. where people on bikes and foot have to contend with WVM blasting through their neighbourhood as fast as possible because these selfish people want to save a few seconds on their journey compared to using more appropriate roads. Anything short of properly filtering these roads is just tinkering around the edges and a waste of time and money.
Grant, those are helpful comments. LCC is very keen on introducing filtering. We need to find the right locations.
On a rare trip in the back of a taxi going from Kings Cross to Highbury Corner, the taxi driver took us along Barnsbury Rd etc; I was relieved to get out of the taxi after going 20 odd humps; I don’t think drivers would need much persuasion to stick to the main roads.
Have gone through Tom’s spreadsheet, I think that a key issue is to analyse neighbourhoods and work out how rat running can be diverted or stopped on particular roads that are or could be used as safe cycle routes. Basically, I have come around to what Grant is saying. As he says Barnsbury-Amwell-Penton-Rosoman is a key route shared by a lot of rat running traffic.
I also think we need to be thinking about cells that discourage through motor traffic. For example, it would be good to create a cell bounded by Kings Cross Rd, Penton Rise, Pentoville Rd, St John St, Roseberry.
Here’s what I said in response to TFL, “I am concerned that given your stated objective is to encourage slow and
novice cyclists the routes you include should where ever possible
include schools and facilities to be used by children and by extension entire
families. This should be even more so the case where, as in Islington
these institutions are already well used by cycling commuters but due to
safety concerns, the speed and volume of traffic, they are still not being
used by families.
With that in mind I wish to propose that the
following routes are included in the grid to incorporate the primary and
secondary schools within the proposed grid area in Islington.
I propose: Richmond Grove, Braes St, Canonbury Grove, Canonbury St, Rotherfield St, and Shepperton Road AND
Danbury St, Rheidol Terrace, Prebend St, Bishop St, Basire St, Popham Rd, Ecclesbourne Rd, Elmore St AND
Mydellton St Spencer St Moreland St Northampton Rd, Clerkenwell Close.
The
above combined link and pass; William Tyndale Primary School (with
existing links to three others Laycock, Canonbury and Highbury
Grove),The New North Community School, Rotherfield Primary School, Hugh
Mydellton Primary, Mooreland Primary School, Hanover Primary Sch, City
University Campus and The City Academy none of which are along the route
of the proposed route. In fact the proposed route seems to go out of
it’s way to avoid all the schools in the area which is quite an
acheivement given the size of the area! Given the professed aims though
this is a travesty.
The proposed route also misses many cultural
amenities such as the many parks in the area families may wish to cycle
to for leisure. St James Church Garden, much of Spa Fields Park, New
River Path and Rosemary Gardens and no direct link to the Brittania
Leisure Centre in Hackney and associated playing fields, all of which
are popular with residents here.
One school which is nearly
included is my son’s school, Central Foundation Boys. The existing route
is inadequate given the high volume of traffic in the area which
includes a large number of HGVs, delivery vans and taxis who drive
carelessly or in the case of HGV’s are known to have many blind spots so it matters little how carefully they drive.
Serious consideration therefore has to be given to either removing
parking OR making the existing route access only to stop rat running and
the dangerous and intimidating incursions into the cycle lanes which
currently take place daily. At present only half a dozen of the
1000plus students cycle to school as a result.
It would also be
really helpful if you made Tabernacle St 2 way for cycling at least the
Pitfield St to Cowper St section so students can use the Pitfield route
to the school in the most direct and common sense way without breaking
the rules.
I do hope you will revise your routes accordingly and
give due consideration to the concerns over safety and reaching
amenities for families after all if it does not serve
mothers and children who is it really aiming to serve?
I can’t believe that they aren’t showing the diagonal across Shoreditch Park that everyone uses going towards the City. Basically they go straight ahead at the bottom of Southgate Road, over the canal into Bridport Place and through the park (as the route shown), then left along the diagonal path, then out onto Mintern Street (rejoining the route), then right onto Pitfield Street. Much more direct than going straight down to Mintern Street as is shown here, and already a busy cycle route.