Haverstock Hill and Rosslyn Hill transport trial scheme approved following public consultation

Camden Council yesterday (Tuesday 3 August 2021) approved a range of trial walking, cycling and road safety improvements to the Haverstock Hill and Rosslyn Hill area following a consultation with residents, businesses and key interested groups between February and March 2021.

The scheme will:

• Provide protected cycle lanes in both directions on Haverstock Hill/ Rosslyn Hill (between the junctions with Prince of Wales Road and Pond Street); including spaces for emergency vehicles to pass traffic.
• Install four new zebra crossings and one new signal crossing.
• Provide more seating for people to stop and rest.
• Install more cycle parking to help people switch their journey to the shops by bike.
• Extend the hours of operation of the bus lane to a 24/7 Monday to Sunday arrangement.
• Add shared use bus boarders at most bus stops to enable cyclists to remain separated from traffic throughout their journey.
• Subject to approval from Transport for London, add pedestrian countdown timers, wider advanced stop lines and “early release” facilities for cyclists at the junctions with Pond Street and England’s Lane.
• Remove the majority of parking provision on Haverstock Hill/ Rosslyn Hill and relocate some of this provision to adjacent side roads. Some disabled parking and some loading provision will be retained on Haverstock Hill/ Rosslyn Hill and an extra disabled parking bay will be provided.
• Remove traffic islands at formal and informal crossing.

The scheme will be implemented under an 18-month Experimental Traffic Order, which will enable the improvements to be implemented on a trial basis. This will allow the Council to observe how the proposed changes are operating before carrying out a full public consultation, after twelve months, to decide whether or not the scheme is made permanent. The Experimental Traffic Order period and scheme construction is scheduled to start in October 2021.

The decision report and full rationale for this decision can be found here. The decision is subject to a five working day call in period.

Further information

1092 valid consultation responses were received. Of the consultees who responded to the public consultation, 55% objected to the scheme and 44% supported the scheme.

More specifically, consultees were asked to give their views on whether or not they supported the six key components of these proposals: cycle lanes, new pedestrian crossings, shared use bus boarders, extension of bus lane hours, junction improvements and parking changes.

• More consultation respondents supported than objected to the new pedestrian crossings (54% support, 27% object, 18% neutral, 1% no response), junction improvements (51% support, 25% object, 23% neutral, 1% no response) and extending the bus lane hours.

• Slightly more people objected to than supported the cycle lane proposals (46% support, 49% object, 4% neutral, 1% no response).

• Slightly more respondents supported, than objected, to the shared use bus boarders (37% support, 36% object, 26% neutral, 1% no response).

• More consultation respondents objected to than supported the parking changes (37% support, 53% object, 9% neutral, 1% no response).

It is clear from the numbers, as well as consultation comments, that the parking changes are one of the main reasons that consultation respondents objected to the proposals.

The public consultation process is an important component helping to inform the Council’s decision-making process. However, it is not the only consideration - the trial scheme on Haverstock Hill and Rosslyn Hill has been approved for implementation based on:

1. the potential contribution of the scheme towards relevant transport and related policy aims/guidance.
2. the mitigations (and amendments to the detailed design) in respect of some of the concerns raised by respondents to the consultation,
3. that the scheme is a trial and, therefore, an opportunity to test the proposals in practice and potentially further address, during the trial period, outstanding concerns/issues and
4. recognising that whilst there was not majority support, good levels of support were received from some residents and other key stakeholder groups along the corridor including the Royal Free Hospital and four local schools.

Proceeding with the Haverstock Hill scheme will assist the Council to:

• contribute to a green recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of providing a lasting legacy of greener, safer travel;
• respond to the current environmental and health crisis through prioritising active and sustainable modes of travel;
• meet its own, as well as London-wide and Government, transport policy objectives through prioritising active and sustainable modes of travel;
• expand and improve the cycling network within the borough;
• expand and improve cycle parking provision for residents, within the borough;
• improve pedestrian crossing facilities along the Haverstock Hill/ Rosslyn Hill corridor;
• address road safety issues, especially for vulnerable road users along the Haverstock Hill/ Rosslyn Hill corridor;
• deliver the recommendation made by the Citizen’s Assembly on the Climate Crisis to introduce more segregated cycle lanes; and
• contribute towards meeting the objectives of Our Camden Plan.

The following amendments were made to the scheme following comments made in response to the consultation, including feedback from residents.

• You said: Removal of the parking facilities along the Haverstock Hill/ Rosslyn Hill corridor would make it difficult for disabled or older car/ taxi passengers to be dropped off along the corridor and that they would have to walk long distances to reach their destination. We listened and will: Introduce new benches along the Haverstock Hill/ Rosslyn Hill corridor. This will provide for pedestrians, including those with limited mobility and other disabilities, with a place where they can stop and rest. The design will continue to include the introduction of an additional disabled parking bay.
• You said: Concerns were raised about delays to emergency vehicles due to the spacing of the wands along the cycle lanes, which are used to physically protect the cycling space, and suggested that wider gaps needed to be provided between these in order to allow for vehicles to pull in between the wands to allow emergency vehicles to overtake. We listened and will: Make the spacing between wands wider in most places than initially proposed, so that there will be sufficient space along the corridor for vehicles to pull over to allow emergency vehicles to overtake.
• You said: Where the cycle lane passes a non-signalised junction with significant traffic flows, the cycle lane should be painted blue where it crosses the junction to make the presence of cyclists clearer to drivers. We listened and will: Paint the cycle lane blue where it crosses a non-signalised junction with a side road, as this change will contribute towards highlighting the presence of the cycle lane to drivers turning in and out of non-signalised side roads and improve road safety.
• You said: Where Shared Use Bus Stops (SUBBs) are introduced on a steep gradient, cyclists will enter the ‘shared’ area at speed and increase the risk of a collision with a pedestrian. We listened and will: Southbound (downhill on Haverstock Hill) SUBBs are included in the design but they will be installed in phases following the introduction of the southbound cycle lane. This will allow us to gain a better understanding of whether or not there are any significant road safety concerns associated with introducing SUBBs on a steeper gradient and if any additional design changes may be required.
• You said: The southbound section of cycle lane, just before the Ornan Road junction, is too narrow (1.2m) and that the bus lane on the northbound side should be stopped short in this location, in order to enable the southbound cycle lane to be widened. We listened and will: Trim a small section of the northbound footway close to the junction of Ornan Road to provide space in order to install a slightly wider 1.5m protected cycle lane. The existing bus lane will remain and a 2m wide footway is maintained.
• You said: The pedestrian island should be maintained within the signalised crossing near Eton Road junction to mitigate safety concerns. We listened and will: Introduce an island at the new signalised crossing near Eton Road.
• You said: Where the cycle lane crosses a signalised junction, it should be marked with cycle logos. We listened and will: Provide cycle markings and advisory cycle lanes through the England’s Lane and Pond Street signalised junctions.
• You said: All advanced stop lines (ASLs) along the corridor should be widened to 5m in length, to provide more space for cyclists to wait and in order to comply with current safety standards. We listened and will: Widen all ASLs, at signalised crossings along the corridor, to 5m.
• You said: As England’s Lane is a T-junction, the cycle lane should be extended through the section of the junction that does not have an ‘arm’ (southbound lane on Haverstock Hill). We listened and will: Introduce a southbound advisory cycle lane and cycle logos through the England’s lane junction.