Segregated cycle lanes are set to be introduced on Shaftesbury Avenue, creating a safer route to the heart of the West End.
Camden council has unveiled the plans for the northern end of the road that is under its control, between St Giles High Street and Charing Cross Road – namely, to and from the Cambridge Circus junction where Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road intersect.
The proposals involve building protected cycle lanes on both sides of Shaftesbury Avenue, with each lane about 550m long.
The council also wants to improve the area north of Shaftesbury Avenue by improving the area between Seven Dials and St Giles Square/Tottenham Court Road.
Camden says Shaftesbury Avenue “has long been dominated by motor traffic, making the area hostile to visit and travel through for most road users”.
The route is used by a large number of cyclists – about 1,400 per day, according to a survey in 2022.
The road is the second highest priority for safety improvements in Camden.
The proposals, which are part of Camden’s “safe and healthy streets programme”, are out to public consultation until November 10. The council said that no trees would be removed.
The proposals involve creating “rain gardens” on parts of the southern side of Shaftesbury Avenue to act as physical segregation for cyclists.
The existing advisory southbound cycle lane on Shaftesbury Avenue, north of the junction with St Giles High Street (outside Shaftesbury Theatre), would be converted into a segregated cycle lane to offer more protection to cyclists.
In terms of extending the cycle lane west of Cambridge Circus, Camden says that “further discussions” with Westminster council would be required, as would a separate consultation.
Camden is keen to improve the layout at Cambridge Circus, which is a very busy junction – in terms of pedestrians, tourists, buses, cars and cyclists - and is effectively a “gateway” to Theatreland.
The proposals also involve closing Phoenix Street and St Giles Passage to vehicles – effectively making these back streets pedestrian and cyclists-only zones.
Lorry drivers would be banned from turning left from Stacey Street onto Shaftesbury Avenue.
“This is because large vehicles turning left encroach the opposite lane, posing a safety risk to all road users,” the council said.
Parts of New Compton Street and Stacey Street – behind and adjacent to the Odeon cinema - would become one-way for drivers but two-way for cyclists.
A “continuous pavement” would be built across New Compton Street at the junction with St Giles High Street to reduce vehicle speeds and provide pedestrian priority.
A new dockless bike hire bay would be built on Stacey Street, near the junction with Phoenix Street, to create a designated parking area to accommodate the growing demand for dockless bikes, such as Lime and Forest.
The proposals come in the wake of Camden’s safety improvements to the Holborn gyratory system, for many years one of the deadliest junctions in London for cyclists.
Last month TfL’s annual data on road deaths and injuries showed a fall in the total number of fatalities to the lowest number on record outside the pandemic years, but a 20 per cent increase in pedestrian deaths.
