Camden Road toucan crossings scheme

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In July we presented our plans to upgrade two pedestrian crossings along the A503 Camden Road to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross at the same time.

Listening to your views 

Thank you to everyone who responded with their views on the Camden Road toucan crossings scheme which aims to upgrade two pedestrian crossings along the A503 Camden Road into toucan crossings, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to cross at the same point. Please find our response to feedback shared in the Documents section.

What we are proposing

These new crossings, called toucan crossings, will provide shared space for both pedestrians

In July we presented our plans to upgrade two pedestrian crossings along the A503 Camden Road to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross at the same time.

Listening to your views 

Thank you to everyone who responded with their views on the Camden Road toucan crossings scheme which aims to upgrade two pedestrian crossings along the A503 Camden Road into toucan crossings, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to cross at the same point. Please find our response to feedback shared in the Documents section.

What we are proposing

These new crossings, called toucan crossings, will provide shared space for both pedestrians and cyclists to cross the road safely. The scheme will also provide shared use pavements for cyclists and pedestrians along Camden Road, leading to the crossings. These crossings are:

  • Rochester Square crossing, NW1 9HU
  • Cantelowes Road crossing, NW1 9UX

You can view a map of the changes in the Documents section.

We are delivering the new crossings to help provide better and safer connections for cyclists to the existing cycle route that runs through the Camden Square area as well as to Camden’s low traffic, Safe & Healthy street projects.

We will be widening both crossings to allow more space for both pedestrians and cyclists. In addition to this we will be adding countdown timers to the Cantelowes Road crossing, so people will know how much time they have to cross the road, promoting safer active travel.

Next steps 

We have taken your comments on board and will be implementing relevant signage on this scheme to indicate the shared area, where cyclists will be sharing the pavement with pedestrians.

The work to convert the crossings is planned to take place late 2022 (Subject to funding). These works should have minimal impact, we will provide another update prior to the start of the works to keep you updated on timescales.

Tell us your views on our plans

Please let us know if you have any specific comments or feedback about the toucan crossings proposal.

You may want to consider telling us:

  • What you think of our plans and the design
  • How beneficial the crossing will be for you
  • Any other comments

If you are unable to use this tool you can also let us know your views by:

  • Emailing us at haveyoursay@tfl.gov.uk 
  • Writing to us at FREEPOST TFL HAVE YOUR SAY
  • Calling our contact centre on 0343 222 1234

Please note that any responses you share may be visible to others and will be subject to moderation. Any personal information will be kept confidential but your user name will be displayed. Further details on moderation are available here

Responses may be publicly available after the project has closed and we may also include them in the form of a report on the results of the engagement exercise, but any personal information will be kept confidential. Your personal information will be properly safeguarded and processed in accordance with the requirements of privacy and data protection legislation. For further information, please visit our privacy policy. 

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I agree that cyclists and pedestrians should be allowed to 'share' the same space, as many people have said. To the elderly and poorly sighted this is a nightmare, since the cyclists are moving faster. I don't see why the poor person on foot minding their own business should have to look out for anything coming.

Bernard over 2 years ago

An excellent scheme. Cycle and pedestrian shared-use spaces do have issues, but the current norms for road design and layouts are very much worse. In my experience of using these spaces both pedestrians and cyclists should be encouraged to adapt their behaviors. More cyclists should use a bell and more pedestrians should get into the habit of looking, even when they can't hear anything coming.

Als over 2 years ago

I agree that a large, visible crossing is needed near the Rochester Road/Camden road junction. Proposed location makes sense, given the link between Rochester Square, Camden Road, Rochester Road and Kentish Town Road. Separate marked areas for pedestrians and cyclists would be a good idea.
I have no objections, provided that at the same time (or earlier), vehicle access is restored between Rochester Road/Terrace, Wilmot Place and St Pancras Way. This route( now blocked to cars) provided safe vehicle access out of Rochester Road/Terrace onto Camden Road, via the St Pancras Way Traffic Lights. At present, it can take some minutes to turn right from Rochester Road to Camden Road, often with a wait necessary in the middle of Camden Road, in the area proposed to be Keep Clear. The proposed crossing development should also include traffic lights at the Rochester Road/Camden Road junctions, if vehicle access to St Pancras Way from Rochester Terrace and Road remains blocked in Wilmot Place.

Judy Powell almost 3 years ago

Cyclists and pedestrians should not be sharing space. I cycle and walk everywhere but the two are not compatible. Pedestrians already have such limited space on narrow pavements, it's not fair to restrict this even further.

gldc00 almost 3 years ago

I use the Cantelowes crossing every day. There is a blind spot at the corner of Camden Road and Cantelowes Road by the raised grass area. There are many near misses for someone walking up Camden Road and a cyclist coming down to the crossing. Is there any way a large mirror could be erected to warn both cyclist and pedestrian of a pending collision? We need to be mindful of our elderly neighbours who use this area as well as mums with small children and buggies.
I hope that there will be clear delineation marked out for pedestrians as well as cyclists as they must not use the same lanes. It would be too dangerous.
Thank you.

Margaret49 almost 3 years ago

Generally wholeheartedly approve of both these proposals. Especially if Camden co-ordinate and link up connections. I would like to see these schemes rather more ambitious. Lots of cyclists want to cross at Cantelowes and connect via Pandian Way to the North. This stretch of Camden Road is notorious for impatient drivers running down pedestrians and cyclists on a fairly regular basis and safer crossings are only part of the answer. The Riad should be a twenty mile per hour zone and the bus lane continuous as the current stop/start encourages unnecessary acceleration.

tomgray almost 3 years ago

Totally opposed to shared space for cyclists and pedestrians. Cyclists are no respecters of people on foot. A lot of children cross at Cantelowes and children do not always have much spacial sense increasing the risk of collisions.

RoNic almost 3 years ago

Overall this is an excellent idea and works great for both pedestrians and cyclists. However I have one suggestion to make. This is to put up signs clearly stating that pedestrians have priority and to cycle at a slow/safe speed. This is because many users e-scooters/bikes with electric motors tend to go at a much faster speed than pedestrians, causing near-misses and even accidents with pedestrians, particularly small children and pets. This has been an issue in some existing shared-use spaces and I hope that design improvements are undertaken in new schemes to mitigate pedestrian-cyclist conflicts.

HighburyAndIslington almost 3 years ago

If its done as identically as the photo of Hornchurch Town center shows it works great for wheelchair users at the point its showing as no drop kerbs to deal with its all level in Hornchurch this is my favorite place to cross and will work well in other areas

Louisaariana almost 3 years ago