Concept design (Jan to May 2015)
The junction at Lambeth North
About 5,000 pedestrians use this junction on a daily basis, so it was not surprising that this was the main area of concern for people during the public engagement. Design concepts to re-prioritise the junction were developed, primarily to improve pedestrian facilities but also to improve cycling journeys.
Specific proposals included:
- new signalised diagonal pedestrian crossing from Lambeth North Underground Station to the west side of Westminster Bridge Road
- new signalised pedestrian crossing point from outside Oasis Academy on Kennington Road
- more direct crossing, replacing existing staggered crossing on Westminster Bridge Road (outside Costa)
- new public space area at the junction north of Newham Terrace
- new public space area outside Lincoln Tower where Westminster Bridge Road and Kennington Road intersect
- additional tree planting and public seating across the area
- five-second early release signals for cyclists at the northbound Kennington Road lane and southbound Baylis Road lane
- inclusion of cycle feeder lanes for Quietway users on Kennington Road (northbound) and Baylis Road (southbound)
- cycle crossing that is parallel to the Oasis Academy pedestrian crossing for less confident cyclists using the Quietway
- general reduction of street clutter.
To achieve these design concepts, some compromises were proposed:
Banning the left turn that currently exists from Westminster Bridge Road to Kennington Road
Relative to the way that the rest of the junction is used, this movement was observed as having a lower amount of traffic movements.
Further to this, people expressed concern that left turn is dangerous for pedestrians. By banning the left turn, it allows designers to reallocate signal time to better pedestrian and cycling facilities, as well as create a public space area outside Oasis Academy that would be used by the school as well as members of the public.
Introducing a point closure on Hercules Road at the west side junction with Cosser Street
The point closure is effectively a bollard in the middle of the road, preventing vehicles from using Hercules Road as a through-route. Hercules Road would effectively become access-only for residents and businesses using the road.
Importantly, the junction with Kennington Road would no longer require traffic signals again, allowing designers to reallocate signal time to pedestrian and cycling facilities.
The junction at Upper Marsh, Lower Marsh, Carlisle Lane and Westminster Bridge Road
With the recent improvements to Lower Marsh, during public engagement it was felt quite widely that the western part of Waterloo felt disconnected from Lower Marsh - particularly at this key junction that is heavily used by pedestrians.
Specific proposals included:
- to extend the high specification materials on Lower Marsh onto the west side of Westminster Bridge Road footway as well as the entrances to Upper Marsh and Carlisle Lane
- to widen the existing pedestrian crossing point
- to create a raised area of carriageway running from The Walrus past the junction with Carlisle Lane, to signify the connection between the two sides of Westminster Bridge Road and to slow down traffic
- to provide west to east cycling facility from Upper Marsh into Lower Marsh and vice versa
- two-way cycling on Upper Marsh
- a general reduction in street clutter.
Again, to achieve these design concepts, some compromises were proposed:
Changing the directional flow of traffic on Carlisle Lane (only between the junction with Westminster Bridge Road to the junction with Royal Street)
This was necessary because once the point closure was introduced onto Hercules Road, vehicular traffic coming north from Lambeth Road would use Carlisle Lane to avoid the junction at Lambeth North.
Changing the directional flow of Upper Marsh
This was necessary to ensure that vehicular traffic traveling northbound towards Addington Street would not ‘rat run’ down Upper Marsh to get to Lambeth Palace Road.
The tunnels - Carlisle Lane, Upper Marsh and Westminster Bridge
People told us that they preferred not to use these tunnel routes because they felt that they were generally uninviting, dirty and noisy.
One of the hotels near the site advised that they actually direct their customers to much longer, alternative routes in order to get to sites such as the Imperial War Museum, rather than use Westminster Bridge Road.
As a part of the concept design process, lighting designers were briefed to bring life to the tunnels and create a greater sense of place through decorative lighting and animation.
The overarching goal was to encourage people to use these connections more, and even possibly treat each site as a unique visitor attraction in itself.