Summary of changes at the junction of Sussex Gardens, Edgware Road, and Old Marylebone Road (A501)
Our proposals are intended to improve safety at the junction of Sussex Gardens, Edgware Road, and Old Marylebone Road (A501). There have been 17 collisions at this junction in the three years up to 2019: seven people were seriously injured and tragically one person was killed in these collisions. These changes would make the junction safer for people walking and cycling, they would make the junction easier and simpler to navigate for everyone and they would improve the look and feel of the area. A map of the proposed changes to improve the junction at Sussex Gardens and Edgware Road for pedestrians and cyclists can be seen below.
Improvements for pedestrians
- There will be upgraded, straight across pedestrian crossings on all ‘arms’ of the junction of Edgware Road, Sussex Gardens and Old Marylebone Road replacing the existing two-stage crossings. This will make it much easier and quicker for pedestrians to cross, because it will no longer be necessary to wait on a traffic island in the centre of the junction
- There will be new pedestrian Countdown timers at all the crossing points to show how long pedestrians have left to cross
- We will create additional pavement space for people walking on the southern sides of Edgware Road (at the junctions with Sussex Gardens and Old Marylebone Road), by removing the two left turn slip lanes which traffic currently uses to turn left into Sussex Gardens and left from Old Marylebone Road into Edgware Road. We will remove the traffic islands within the junction and modify the remaining traffic lanes, to allow traffic to continue to make the left turn into Sussex Gardens and out of Old Marylebone Road
Improvements for cyclists
- Currently, there are two left turn lanes which traffic uses to turn left into Sussex Gardens from Edgware Road and left from Old Marylebone Road into Edgware Road. These left turn lanes will be reallocated with new footway space for pedestrians, and the existing traffic islands would be removed. This also makes the junction simpler and easier to navigate for cyclists
- Our proposals include new cycle signals to help cyclists move through the junction. Cyclists turning right both into and out of Edgware Road, would do so in two ‘stages’ under the protection of cycle only signals
- Our proposals also include new ‘early release’ cycle signals for cyclists on Edgware Road, to help them pull away ahead of traffic
Improvements to the local environment
- We propose to build four new ‘rain gardens’ to make the area feel more pleasant with attractive landscaping. The rain gardens would also create a natural barrier between pedestrians and vehicles
- The rain gardens would also provide environmental and drainage benefits by capturing rainfall and filtering runoff from the highway and footway. The rain gardens act like a giant sponge by storing and cleaning rainwater before it reaches the sewer system. This also reduces the risk of flooding
- Our surveys show that there are several unhealthy trees in the vicinity (please see map). We will remove the unhealthy trees to take away any risk to the public and plant new trees in the four new rain gardens
Changes to parking
- It will be necessary to remove the four resident or pay by phone (available 8:30-18:30) parking spaces outside 153 - 155 Edgware Road
- The disabled parking bay at 161 Edgware Road would be changed from one without a time limit to a dual use 20-minute loading and three-hour stay disabled parking bay. We are doing this to make parking for the nearby parade of shops more accessible to more shoppers with disabilities
Consultation has concluded