Dear TfL
Thank you for consulting Westminster Cycling Campaign about these proposals. We are the local group of the London Cycling Campaign.
We support the aim of the proposals, but feel that some features fall short of what is required to achieve the optimal result.
To be more specific:
We strongly support the removal of the existing slip roads on the corners of Edgware Road (SE). These can cause conflict between left-turning vehicles and cyclists proceeding straight ahead.
We are also pleased that cyclists will now be able to turn right from any of the roads meeting at this junction.
Whilst we welcome the installation of early-start signals for cyclists, these (and advanced stop lines) are not a panacea: they are effective only for cyclists who arrive at the junction during a red signal phase.
We are very concerned that the arrangement of lanes on the approach from Old Marylebone Road will still lead to conflict where left-turning motor vehicles have to cross the path of cyclists proceeding straight ahead or now also turning right.
We question whether three traffic lanes are really required on the approach from Old Marylebone Road.
As there are already cycle lanes on Sussex Gardens SW of Norfolk Crescent, would it not make sense to extend these one block to the junction with Edgware Road, so as to create a continuous route?
In view of the traffic volumes on Edgware Road, why are cyclists not given further protection along it? According to your own new Cycling Action Plan 2 / Strategic Cycling Analysis, there is the highest priority for a north-south cycling corridor here. There are nearly 2,000 cycle movements daily (https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/manualcountpoints/6152).
A solution where cyclists could never be on the same part of the junction at the same time as motor vehicles would inevitably be safer than the one currently proposed.
We therefore feel that the proposals may have missed an opportunity for a more radical solution to improve cyclists’ safety.
Although we recognise that there can be a subjective element, by our reckoning the proposals increase the Junction Assessment Tool’s rating from 21% to 54%. Whilst this is a distinct improvement from a truly awful level, it is still a long way short of the 79% that we calculate for the junction on the Westminster side of Vauxhall Bridge, for example.
We urge you not to miss this once-in-a-generation opportunity not only to undo the mistakes of the past but also to create a junction truly fit for the 21st century. It's unlikely that another opportunity will present itself to fulfil Vision Zero before the deadline of 2041.
Yours sincerely
Colin Wing
Westminster Cycling Campaign.