Shoreditch update 5th September 2001

Good news. Two-way general traffic in Shoreditch High Street has been accepted as the goal by all now. It's just that we'll have to wait until a second phase of implementation to get it.

Great Eastern Street will be two-way for all traffic. Even Old Street will be two-way for all traffic. But Shoreditch High Street will, in phase one of implementation, be semi-two-way, with a northbound contraflow for buses and bikes, and the rest of the northbound traffic continuing to be diverted via Curtain Road.

What lies between us and the ultimate aim are some strands of optical fibre outside the telephone exchange on Shoreditch High Street. Transport for London (TfL), which is now taking forward the reform of the past-its-sellby-date 1960s one-way system, has been quoted millions to move them, in order to remove the pinch point which is the only thing stopping a return to full two-way traffic in Shoreditch High Street. This figure will probably go down, but there isn't a budget to do this work in the current timescale (on site January 2002), so it'll have to wait for another year or so.

Among the many improvements made to the scheme as a result of the public consultation on TfL's first draft, we were shown several improvements to cycle permeability, including a toucan crossing (ie for both pedestrians and cyclists) at the desire line we demonstrated during the Look Both Ways event last December, across Shoreditch High Street between Boundary Passage and New Inn Yard.

Other major stuff:

• The staggered junction we wanted linking Hoxton Street and Curtain Road is up against the requirement of the businesses between the Town Hall and Curtain Road for loading - their current spaces are being displaced for the new stop for westbound buses outside the Town Hall. This one looks difficult to win as things currently stand.
• Better news on the staggered junction we proposed linking Rivington Street and Calvert Avenue across Shoreditch High Street: James Duncan, Hackney's assistant director, Transportation, said he didn't see why that should be a problem, so they'll look at that again.
• We haven't yet really established the likelihood of getting contraflow cycle movement on Curtain Road. It's slightly complicated by there still being northbound through motor traffic on Curtain Road during phase one with that being removed in phase two. We need to pursue this.
• TfL agreed to go back to the drawing board again for the 'apex site' (jct Old Street and Great Eastern Street). For more detail, see below for an update from Roland Jeffery of the Shoreditch Town Hall Trust.

Reform of Shoreditch Triangle One Way Scheme

Update bulletin by Roland Jeffery

A follow-up meeting was held yesterday 13 August 01 between TfL officers ands several community representatives and with the participation of LBHackney. This was initially proposed by TfL in order to discuss TfL's responses to their public consultation exercise on the scheme.

Update on the Scheme
TfL have done some redesign and incorporated a number of significant and very welcome improvements to the scheme as a result of the public consultation. These include, but are not limited to:

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• More pedestrian crossings generally
• Better aligned (i.e. closer to desire lines) crossings than previously
• Two way traffic of all sorts in Old St
• One way traffic continuing in Shoredtich High Street, but with contra flow northbound buses and reduced width to make traffic behave better
• Widened pavements and a reduction to only two lanes in Curtain Road.

Under the revised scheme Curtain Road would continue to take northbound traffic as at present - except that busses will go up Shoreditch High St. Two way traffic is not found to be feasible in Shoreditch High Street. The volumes of traffic in Curtain Road would not be greater than now and the wider pavements, reduction from 4 to 2 lanes and a new crossing at Riving ton St should make it a lot nicer to walk along and make the traffic slower/ better behaved.

There was discussion about this aspect. Apparently two way traffic in the High Street has come across a problem with fibre optic cables under the footway at a key pinch point and the cost of moving these is prohibitive at present. However TfL think two-way working is otherwise possible - if the cables can be moved. That is now planned as phase II of the scheme. TfL officers went on record as saying that moving the cables to enable two way working in Shoreditch High Street is a clear medium term objective

Nothing else in this phase ( which can now be called Phase I) would be abortive if phase II gets the go-ahead when money becomes available to move the fibre optics, Curtain Road would then become a minor distributor road and all the northbound traffic - not just busses - would go up Shoredtich High Street.

This is the first time those at the meeting had heard about the problem of the fibre optics route underneath the High Street. LBH officers present confirmed that it was a serious problem and relocation of the cables was very expensive - relative to the overall budget for the rest of the scheme.

Fine Tuning
Things TfL are going to look further at for Phase I implementation, following the meeting, include:

• Traffic directions in Riving ton St with a view to better integration of the cycle routes there. This is an LBH road, so authorities are liasing.
• Better desire lines for pedestrians and cyclists the junction of Old St/ Gt Eastern St. (sometimes known as the Apex site) This is on a key cycle route and joins the two most heavily used footways in the area. Desire lines as presently designed are not good. It is acknowledged that the junction is of necessity complex.
• Prohibiting a right turn into Pitfield Street from Great Eastern St. at the Apex site. This would not only prevent Pitfield being a rat run, as at present, and perhaps worse. It would also enable a simpler junction at Old St/Gt Eastern St and crossings for pedestrians and cyclists that are dramatically more in line with desire lines. TfL modelling suggest there will probably not be the capacity to divert this traffic via East Road/ but they will revisit their computer models. Closing Pitfield to through traffic from the Triangle would make a dramatic difference to the New Deal area.
• further fine-tuning in the alignments/positioning of a some crossings

Works have already started
The drainage works to solve the widespread flooding the Triangle experiences in rain (don't we know it!) is now on site and will last three/four months (motorists can expect major delays).

Traffic volumes
TfL indicated that if the scheme were implemented as shown to the meeting volumes were estimated to be:

• Gt Eastern St - as at present (but two way, so calmer/slower and controlled at several points by new or upgraded crossings)
• Old St - overall approx 40% reduction overall on present, but two way
• Curtain Rd - as at present, but slower as reduced from 4 to 2 lanes and a new crossing at Rivington St

The Mayor's Congestion Charging scheme is not now premised on toll booth style cameras at the gateways to the central area, but on cameras, many of them mobile, throughout the charge area. Therefore the Triangle Scheme can go ahead as designed. Works to Commercial Street immediately to the south of the Triangle will start soon, whilst gating of traffic at Old St Roundabout will be introduced by means of newly installed traffic lights, also to go up in 2002.

15 August 01
Roland Jeffery, Project Director

Shoreditch Town Hall Trust

www.shoreditchtownhall.org.uk