URBAN REALM DESIGN |
Camden High Street + Britannia Junction | LB Camden
CAMDEN TOWN PROJECTS
Camden Council commissioned the Urban Initiatives public realm team (now Urban Movement) to deliver concept designs for six distinct but contiguous project areas within the town centre of Camden. The primary aim of the project was to improve the quality of the townscape by creating more space for pedestrians and cyclists by reorganising the street space.
The first phase to be delivered (in 2009) was the northern section of Camden High Street, from the tube station to the lock and markets (see separate web page entry).
The second scheme in the package to be implemented (opened in 2012) was the complex, sprawling, six armed, Britannia Junction, immediately south of the tube station. The carriageway alignments entering and exiting the junction space were altered considerably to create two new public spaces. South of the tube station the larger space now operates as a place to meet and congregate for visitors to Camden Town and the markets. The widened northern footway of Parkway now includes the ladies toilet, that used to sit on a traffic island, several market stalls and cycle parking. Pedestrian guardrail was removed from the entire junction, following a standardised audit developed by UM, allowing the free movement of pedestrians through the junction space. Formal pedestrian crossings were retained across all the junction arms but were re-aligned to sit more closely on desire lines. High quality yorkstone slabs were used throughout the pedestrian areas and the carriageway was surfaced in a buff coloured anti-skid to help to unify the space visually.
The redesigned Cobden Junction was fully reopened to the public in 2015 following detailed and technical design by Camden Council. The UM concept design simplified traffic movements through the space and removed remote islands to create a new major public space in front of KOKO (the former Camden Palace) and wider footways to accommodate trees and seats. The statue of Richard Cobden was incorporated within the KOKO public space, roughly in the centre of the bigger junction space. Seats and trees were added throughout but off the main pedestrian desire lines. The footpaths were all surfaced in yorkstone but the seats and trees sit in areas of permeable self binding gravel which accepts surface water and helps to generally soften the space and allows the trees’ root systems to ‘breathe’.
Three projects are yet (2017) to be developed and implemented: Camden High Street South, Parkway and Camden Road. As these are all ‘streets’ (for the most part one-way) the proposals were broadly similar. We generally recommended the removal/narrowing of traffic lanes to allow footways to be widened to ease pedestrian congestion and provide space for cycle lanes, trees, seats, cycle parking and raised loading/parking bays.
CAMDEN HIGH STREET
In 2006 Camden Council had become concerned about the health of London’s famous Camden High Street. Pedestrian congestion levels on the footways were very high, contributing to high levels of petty crime, particularly pick-pocketing around the tube station and high numbers of collisions between vehicles and pedestrians. Urban Movement were commissioned by the council to develop detailed designs to resolve these issues and to improve the environmental and visual quality of the streetscape. The finished design was completed in November 2009 at the relatively modest cost of £1.6 million.
The refurbishment of Camden High Street was both complex and challenging involving numerous stakeholders including Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the local business community. The key to achieving the aims of the project stemmed from our observations that traffic tended move down the centre of this very wide (7m+) one way street rather than forming two lanes. Traffic counts also confirmed that two lanes constituted ‘over provision’. This enabled increases in footway widths by generally narrowing the street from two lanes to one wide lane (sufficient to allow a bus to comfortably overtake a bicycle). The widened footways not only accommodate more pedestrians but also more trees and more loading and parking bays.
A small budget meant that the street had to be paved cost effectively. We used pre-cast concrete paving slabs with imprinted asphalt over basements and granite setts in loading and parking bays. The street was heralded (by the Times - November 27, 2009) as London’s first ‘Naked’ street as it had virtually no road markings and little signed enforcement. The visual and environmental quality of the streetscape was helped considerably by planting several new trees whilst retaining the existing stock.
Early traffic surveys showed significant traffic speed reductions and fewer accidents. The increased width of footways and increased crossing opportunities has helped to increase visitor numbers. The Police also reported reduced incidences of petty crime as former pedestrian congestion hotspots, around the tube entrances and bus stops, have been relieved by widening and guardrail removal.
Camden Council commissioned the Urban Initiatives public realm team (now Urban Movement) to deliver concept designs for six distinct but contiguous project areas within the town centre of Camden. The primary aim of the project was to improve the quality of the townscape by creating more space for pedestrians and cyclists by reorganising the street space.
The first phase to be delivered (in 2009) was the northern section of Camden High Street, from the tube station to the lock and markets (see separate web page entry).
The second scheme in the package to be implemented (opened in 2012) was the complex, sprawling, six armed, Britannia Junction, immediately south of the tube station. The carriageway alignments entering and exiting the junction space were altered considerably to create two new public spaces. South of the tube station the larger space now operates as a place to meet and congregate for visitors to Camden Town and the markets. The widened northern footway of Parkway now includes the ladies toilet, that used to sit on a traffic island, several market stalls and cycle parking. Pedestrian guardrail was removed from the entire junction, following a standardised audit developed by UM, allowing the free movement of pedestrians through the junction space. Formal pedestrian crossings were retained across all the junction arms but were re-aligned to sit more closely on desire lines. High quality yorkstone slabs were used throughout the pedestrian areas and the carriageway was surfaced in a buff coloured anti-skid to help to unify the space visually.
The redesigned Cobden Junction was fully reopened to the public in 2015 following detailed and technical design by Camden Council. The UM concept design simplified traffic movements through the space and removed remote islands to create a new major public space in front of KOKO (the former Camden Palace) and wider footways to accommodate trees and seats. The statue of Richard Cobden was incorporated within the KOKO public space, roughly in the centre of the bigger junction space. Seats and trees were added throughout but off the main pedestrian desire lines. The footpaths were all surfaced in yorkstone but the seats and trees sit in areas of permeable self binding gravel which accepts surface water and helps to generally soften the space and allows the trees’ root systems to ‘breathe’.
Three projects are yet (2017) to be developed and implemented: Camden High Street South, Parkway and Camden Road. As these are all ‘streets’ (for the most part one-way) the proposals were broadly similar. We generally recommended the removal/narrowing of traffic lanes to allow footways to be widened to ease pedestrian congestion and provide space for cycle lanes, trees, seats, cycle parking and raised loading/parking bays.
CAMDEN HIGH STREET
In 2006 Camden Council had become concerned about the health of London’s famous Camden High Street. Pedestrian congestion levels on the footways were very high, contributing to high levels of petty crime, particularly pick-pocketing around the tube station and high numbers of collisions between vehicles and pedestrians. Urban Movement were commissioned by the council to develop detailed designs to resolve these issues and to improve the environmental and visual quality of the streetscape. The finished design was completed in November 2009 at the relatively modest cost of £1.6 million.
The refurbishment of Camden High Street was both complex and challenging involving numerous stakeholders including Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the local business community. The key to achieving the aims of the project stemmed from our observations that traffic tended move down the centre of this very wide (7m+) one way street rather than forming two lanes. Traffic counts also confirmed that two lanes constituted ‘over provision’. This enabled increases in footway widths by generally narrowing the street from two lanes to one wide lane (sufficient to allow a bus to comfortably overtake a bicycle). The widened footways not only accommodate more pedestrians but also more trees and more loading and parking bays.
A small budget meant that the street had to be paved cost effectively. We used pre-cast concrete paving slabs with imprinted asphalt over basements and granite setts in loading and parking bays. The street was heralded (by the Times - November 27, 2009) as London’s first ‘Naked’ street as it had virtually no road markings and little signed enforcement. The visual and environmental quality of the streetscape was helped considerably by planting several new trees whilst retaining the existing stock.
Early traffic surveys showed significant traffic speed reductions and fewer accidents. The increased width of footways and increased crossing opportunities has helped to increase visitor numbers. The Police also reported reduced incidences of petty crime as former pedestrian congestion hotspots, around the tube entrances and bus stops, have been relieved by widening and guardrail removal.
