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Corner revamp must make room for buses
• THE Islington Society has been advocating changes at Highbury Corner for many years, and has put forward proposals of its own to remove the gyratory system installed in 1958 which is so hostile to pedestrians and cyclists.
As well as seeking removal of the gyratory, we have campaigned for removal of the unsightly temporary post office and its re-siting elsewhere. We welcome the proposal for a post office over the overground tracks on the northern arm of the roundabout, particularly as we recently lost a sub-post office at 218 St Paul’s Road (physically in the road perceived as Highbury Grove). Option C can be implemented without prejudice to the more effective options and should proceed without delay.
The alternatives are, therefore, A and B and we prefer A over B for three reasons. First, it provides a better linear walking route between Compton Terrace and Highbury Fields. Second, the west side will always attract greater footfall than the northern arm. Third, it is marginally better for buses.
However, the proposal does not go far enough in terms of this third objective. The greatest volume of interchange arises from buses from Hackney (routes 30 and 277) arriving at the first Tube station they encounter.
These pedestrians currently have to cross two roads in the morning peak and one in the evening, while the stop is about as far from the station as possible. Option A makes insufficient improvement for the morning peak. We would therefore prefer to see buses allowed in both directions in the pedestrianised part.
We were particularly disappointed that the proposals are traffic neutral. We expect to see a reduction in traffic as a benefit of the congestion charge and as further commitment to sustainable modes and in opposition to climate change. A previous director of street management stated that this was now possible and the Mayor of London has continued to drive policy in this direction.
We enthusiastically support the provision of good-quality public realm outside the station and we are confident this will accommodate the combined queues of current stops in Holloway Road (northbound) and St Paul’s Road (eastbound).
We will be seeking an assurance that no bus passengers will be disadvantaged by the changes in terms of time and distance from the station. As well as the flows from the 30 and 277 buses, this includes the 271 and 393 buses in both directions and the 4, 19 and 43 southbound.
We would expect the 271 to take the western arm of the roundabout. The case for the 393 is less strong but if it were to take the direct route stop A would have to be no further north than at present.
We do however accept that the pattern of travel is not static. In particular, the recent change of management control of London Overground will achieve a significant modal shift. Hitherto, the overground has been unattractive because of relatively low frequencies, relatively high incidence of delay, extreme overcrowding, so that passengers are sometimes unable to board after a 15-minute wait, and the lack of availability of Oyster pay-as-you-go which has added at least 50p to travel costs.
As the new management addresses all of these issues, our main concern is that its success with three of them will exacerbate the overcrowding problem still further.
We therefore expect some analysis of the impact of London Overground on bus/Tube interchange at Highbury and Islington in time for the second round of consultation.
We also believe some analysis of the contra-flow bus lane at Russell Square should be made. This should alleviate safety fears which arise from giving passengers and cyclists greater freedom, and should also inform Transport for London of the measures to be taken here to minimise pedestrian/cyclist/bus conflicts.
ANDREW BOSI
Chairman, Islington Society
• IT is interesting that the Highbury Corner consultation document does not include a fourth option, popular with residents – joining the central reservation to Compton Terrace.
It has considerable advantages, among them an improvement in traffic flow. Upper Street and Holloway Road take through traffic from the south up to the A1 and M1, major routes north. This alternative would direct the major traffic flow smoothly from one to the other. Canonbury Road and St Paul’s Road traffic could be directed in.
The connection of the central reservation to Compton Terrace would open a pedestrian route between the east side of Upper Street and Compton Terrace, via the extension, to the St Paul’s Road/Canonbury Road connection.
This alternative also restores to Compton Terrace the land lost to the VI bomb!
A pedestrian bridge or tunnel crossing the St Paul’s Road-Canonbury Road connection would continue a pedestrian route from Compton Terrace into Highbury Fields or even to the station.
Jeremy Lawson FRCS, FRCPCH
Canonbury Square, N1
•
CAN you imagine Highbury Corner as a place people would want to go to? It once was, and it can be again. The key to making it a landmark once again is a beautiful station, just as destroying the station and installing the gyratory system were the key to its years of decline.
With the Council and Transport for London (TfL) now motivated to “tidy up” the Corner in time for the Olympics, it’s time to push for the best possible, most lasting boost for the area.
The new station itself requires an outstanding design, within the height constraints of this area. We believe that only a competition, attracting the best architects, will deliver this, with a public voice in the final decision. It would be nice to see all that as part of the Olympic boost.
However, we could start right now, in the midst of the debate about the gyratory system revamp, by preparing the area that will surround the new station.
What we don’t want are dark, forbidding buildings that turn their back on the station area and allow an underlife to flourish in the manner of King’s Cross before its bold regeneration.
We want all areas surrounding the station to be open, benefiting from the green space of the newly “joined-up” island. These areas also need to be exposed to the view not just of passers-by, but also of people enjoying the Corner in cafés and restaurants.
For this reason, we support the proposal common to both the council/TfL main gyratory options of closing Highbury Station Road to traffic by day. We would like to see a “pavement culture”, with businesses such as restaurants and cafés flourishing on the western side.
To balance the “grand entrance” at the front of the station, we would welcome a well-overlooked side entrance to the building, opening into the traffic-sheltered but open-to-view cul-de-sac of Highbury Station Road. To make the idea work to maximum benefit, we feel the road closure should in fact be 24-hour.
The council has made a successful move in this direction at another key local site, Islington Green. There, by permanently pedestrianising the road at the northern side of the Green, it has opened up the Green itself for the enjoyment of the public, while providing an overlooking area of cafés and restaurants that makes the whole area safer and healthier.
Changing the space all around the station could help to extend Upper Street’s vibrant feel from Camden Passage right up to Highbury Corner. More than 1,100 people have written to support our campaign to close the west side of the gyratory, while respecting the venerable plane tree to the south.
Let’s make Highbury and Islington station a place to go to, not just a place to go through.
NATHAN COFFEY
Families of Highbury Corner Campaign Group
• WHILE it seems from readers’ letters that option A looks like the preferred route for Highbury Corner, I would like to alert people to another scam from Transport for London.
Option A, as proposed, leaves the west side open to bus and taxi traffic. While forcing everybody else to go around in a slow, traffic-lights created jam, buses and taxis will roam through the west side. This bus lane will need to be designed so that pedestrians and users of the pavement and open space are protected. This means barriers or a pelican crossing. As a result, access to the park of Highbury Corner will not improve very much.
This improved access is mentioned as the main purpose of the whole exercise. What propaganda! In reality, we have only another scheme by Transport for London to make private traffic journeys worse and slower.
The effort is commendable, but a full piazza and easy access to the central island can be achieved only if one side is completely closed to traffic. While I would have personally preferred a closure of another side, option A should go ahead only if the west side is completely closed to traffic.
MONICA RICCIARDI
(Address supplied) N1
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