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Camden New Journal - by PAUL KEILTHY
Published: 22 November 2007

Paul Braithwaite

‘Cycling champ’ St Pancras blast

DAYS into his job, Camden’s new cycling czar has set himself on a collision course with the biggest development in Europe over road safety around King’s Cross.
Councillor Paul Braithwaite was appointed as the council’s first “cycling champion” last Thursday, and used his first interview with the New Journal to lambast safety for cyclists around King’s Cross and the newly opened Eurostar link at St Pancras.
Outlining his vision of a “Paris-type pan-London cycling scheme”, he echoed the protests of the Camden Cycling Campaign by criticising both Transport for London and the builders of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), a consortium led by London Continental Railways.
He said: “CTRL have a lot to learn in respect of cyclists.
“Providing 50 bicycle spaces is laughably inadequate, and there generally hasn’t been sufficient forethought for cycle provision in what is going to be the largest development in western Europe.”
He particularly highlighted the advance stop line – generally known as bike boxes – at the junction of Camley Street and Goods Way, which was painted in three weeks after Hampstead cyclist Emma Foa was crushed to death under a heavy lorry turning left.
Campaigners believe the cycle lane at the junction was painted in the wrong place by CTRL and could put other cyclists in danger.
Cllr Braithwaite added: “This is dangerous and unsatisfactory.”
But High Speed 1– the new name of CTRL – hit back, accusing Cllr Braithwaite of muddling his facts.
Spokesman Ben Ruse said: “It is very, very ill-informed to think that cycling is not front and centre of our thinking. There is only one road that we have control over and that is Pancras Road – and we have made that a 20mph area to increase safety.
“There are currently 50 bike spaces at the station, which means there’s space for 100 cycles, all covered by CCTV and our patrols.
“In the consented scheme (for the 67-acre King’s Cross development) there are 600 cycle spaces, and it could quite easily be extended beyond that. But we can’t provide those now because the thing hasn’t been built.
“He should go back and check his facts.”

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