King's Cross Gyratory

The main issues raised at the King's Cross Gyratory Review consultation meeting, as I understood it, were

1. Participate and engage properly (with at least two weeks' advance notice, with clear scope and with commitment to follow-up meetings) so that stakeholder participation is transparent, genuine and valued. (Noted by Claire Alleguen - Consultation Delivery, Surface Transport, Transport for London)

2. Ensure current professional urban realm design principles are applied in King's Cross; (priority to vulnerable street users, deterrent to polluting, heavy or fast vehicles - traffic evaporation principle), see Manual for Streets 2, TfL Valuing Urban Realm Toolkit, Living Streets pedestrian environment audits, etc.
(Noted by facilitator Andy Firman AECOM, Camden Transport Planning officer Antony Holloway and Islington Transport Planning officer)

3. Heed, review and update previous research including King's Cross Place Plan (LB Camden and LB Islington), TRL Living Streets Audit 2008, Buchanan 2009 (cycles and pedestrians omitted), Neighbourhood Plan (in progress). Gather thorough objective evidence on pedestrian and cycle environments and safety existing and planned when setting clear, measurable, achieveable objectives for the redesign of the area - twelve mixed use streets and 16 junctions and other places around motor routes A201, A501, A5202, A5203, A5200.

4. Assess pedestrian routes and journey time reliability for the entire surface transport interchange (for example between Bus Stop H and Bus Stop M)

5. Camden Transport Planning Officer Antony Holloway is leaving soon and will hand over to a colleague. He was unable to provide minutes of the July KX Gyratory objective-setting meeting with TfL and Islington, but believed no objectives were set, and that TfL would make public any information on objectives of the review developed in future... The end of the review, it was suggested, would run beyond July 2013.
The facilitator (Andy Firman, AECOM) undertook to transcribe and distribute the findings of the session. 


Flashback to February 2008
Living Streets in King's Cross Environment

See also Link or Place, Town Centre,  Bad Gyrations, Vigil and Place-shaping

GC