London,

November

2020

07:31

Europe/London

Coronavirus: Camden responds to COVID-19 pandemic

Here you can find daily key announcements from Camden Council in response to the coronavirus crisis. For more information and guidance, head to our coronavirus webpage or call our dedicated coronavirus helpline on 020 7974 4444 and select option 9.

Thursday 5 November

Libraries update 5/11/20

Following the new national restrictions in place from 5 November, Camden libraries are pleased to confirm a number of services will remain open in Lockdown. Service updates include:

Computer access: computers can be accessed on a first come first serve basis. Sessions are limited to 1 hour per day. Printing, scanning and photocopying available. Services will be available from Thursday 5 November at all libraries but not Swiss Cottage or Highgate Libraries.

Highgate Library: this library will be open from Thursday 5 November for “request and read”. Collections will be available from the foyer.

Swiss Cottage Library: this library will close on Thursday 5 November and reopen on Monday 9 November for ‘request and read’. Collections will be from the foyer.

Camden Local Studies and Archive Centre: the centre will be closed to customers but resources can be accessed online.

Home Library Service: we will continue to deliver to housebound customers. If you, or someone you know, can’t get out and about, you may be eligible for the free home library service. Every four weeks, we will bring reading, music and films to your home. Email [email protected]

Adult community learning: digital classes will continue from Kilburn Library Centre more information is available online.

Digital library: you can continue to visit our digital libraries which has a range of free online books, e-magazines and information resources.

Christmas closure: Camden Libraries will be closed over the Christmas period from Thursday 24 until the Tuesday 29 of December.

We are working to see if we can safely offer more services over the next few weeks and will keep this page updated. All libraries will have measures in place to keep residents and staff safe. Visitors are advised to wear a face covering in line with Government guidance.

Thursday 29 October

Tell us what you think of the changes we have been making to streets in Camden

We have been making changes to streets across Camden to help make them safer and healthier including adding 5 new cycle lanes and restricting traffic on 19 residential streets and those outside 8 schools.

We know that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed how communities in Camden live, travel and work. Many of us have been spending more time closer to home, making quieter and safer neighbourhoods more important than ever. We want our streets to have more space for everyone to walk and cycle, for you to be breathing cleaner air, for children to get to and from school safely and for businesses to be able to flourish.

Lots of the changes we have made have been in place for a little while now. We would like to hear from you about how you think its going.

We have launched a dedicated Commonplace website so you can easily let us know how you feel about the changes we have made by answering a few quick questions and share any ideas that you have for how we could make improvements.

If you would prefer to fill out a paper form just get in touch with us on 020 7974 4444 and we’ll send one out to you.

On the website you will find information on each of the different projects we have completed so you can explore the changes that are important to you.

We will be checking in directly with all residents, businesses and stakeholders local to each project to find out what they think once each change has had a chance to bed in, and again before the final consultation, which will take place after around 12 months.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and comments so that together we can make streets across Camden safer and healthier for everyone. For all the latest on each of the schemes we have running please visit www.camden.gov.uk/making-travel-safer-in-camden

Friday 9 October

Camden closer to ending ‘digital divide’ for pupils as Crowdfunder raises over £34k

In just over two weeks, donations from over 150 supporters have meant that Camden Learning’s Digital Divide Crowdfunder has reached over £34,400, which will go towards buying vital IT equipment for Camden’s most disadvantaged students.

Find out more

Explore the benefits of Camden’s parks

Saturday 10 October is World Mental Health Day and we’re highlighting the benefits of Camden’s parks on mental health and wellbeing.

With over 75 parks and green spaces across the borough, there’s something for everyone including walking, running and cycling routes, outdoor gyms and many spaces to enjoy nature and wildlife.

Covid-19 has highlighted the importance of our parks and the benefits that they bring. Having access to parks gives us a sense of calmness, helping to reduce stress and allowing us to keep active.

Camden’s Parks for Health project will build on the value of parks, making sure they are accessible and enjoyable assets for everyone– now and in the future. The project will work in partnership with local health professionals, volunteer groups and leisure providers to make sure parks are central to achieving a healthier Camden.

Visit Camden.gov.uk/parks for more information.

Wednesday 7 October

Camden libraries update

We are pleased to be reopening more of our library services. By Monday 19 October, all of Camden’s libraries will be open for book browsing, access to computers, printing, scanning and photocopying.

To reopen services safely the following libraries will be closed temporarily for one day to make some changes:

Tuesday 13 October: Pancras Square and West Hampstead libraries will be closed reopening on Wednesday 14th with book browsing and computer access.
Friday 16 October: Queens Crescent library reopening on Saturday 17th with book browsing and computer access.

All libraries have measures in place to keep staff and residents safe including regular cleaning and social distancing between computers. Book browsing is also limited to a maximum of 20 minutes. We also request that all visitors wear face coverings, in line with government guidance.

Visit our webpage to find out more about library opening times. You can also visit our digital library which has a range of free online books, e-magazines and information resources.

Tuesday 29 September

Our guide to help people living in shared housing protect themselves from coronavirus

Coronavirus cases are rising across Camden and London which means we are all at a higher risk of catching it. Cases in Camden seem to be on the lower end of the scale but have been rising in recent weeks, and because we live in such an interconnected city, rising cases across London impact us all.

Preventing the spread of coronavirus can be more difficult when you’re living in close proximity to other people, so we’ve developed a guide to help people living with others to stay safe and protect themselves and everyone they live with. This could be family members, lodgers, housemates or a partner. As well as sharing general public health advice, it also includes advice to follow if you or someone you live with develops coronavirus symptoms to prevent everyone else from catching it.

This is included in the guide but please be aware that if you need help to self-isolate, please let us know because we are ready to support you. Whether it be accessing food or medicine or support to home-school your children, please call us on 020 7974 4444 (option 9). The helpline is open 9am – 6pm, Monday - Friday but if your need is urgent and it cannot wait, you can also contact us outside of these hours. You can also find information about the wide range of support we offer at camden.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Monday 28 September

Safer travel – helping getting to school healthier and safer

We know that people are changing the way they travel due to Covid-19, so now more than ever we want to make getting to and from school safe and easy for parents and their children.

Healthy School Streets make the streets outside schools safer at the start and end of the school day by restricting cars so it is easier and safer to walk to school. The drop in traffic also contributes to improvements in local air quality for the children at the schools.

Since lockdown we have introduced three new healthy school streets taking our total across Camden to eight. The new safer streets are:

Minster Road – for Mulberry House School
Cliff Villas – for Brecknock School
Princess Road – for Primrose Hill School

A further five schools in the Fitzjohn’s Avenue area will have Healthy School Streets to be launched in October.

We have surveyed 14 local schools in Camden and we know that 51% of children already walk, cycle or scoot to school and we want to support more children and their parents to give healthier travel options a go.

We know that more of you than ever are trying out cycling with weekday cycle flows at two of our automatic cycle count point sites recording an average increase of 106% in cycling levels this August compared to last. We are here to support everyone taking up cycling again or for the first time to do so as safely and as comfortably as possible.

This is why we are making lots of improvements to the cycling network across Camden as well as offering support to new cyclists.

For new cyclists or those wanting to brush up on their skills we have restarted our free cycle skills training courses, available for all Camden children and adults.
If you want you try out a cargo bike for the school run Camden offers free cargo bike loans to parents contact Paul Davis or Michelle Jamieson via [email protected] or on 0207 974 5537.

If you are a teacher then idling Action London is able to provide free air quality workshops for Y4-6 classes in Camden schools, to teach pupils about the importance of air quality for health how to minimise their own exposure to air pollution. They can engage the entire school community to take action like how to persuade drivers to switch their engines off.

Workshops can be delivered in-person or virtually. Visit www.idlingaction.london to find out more or email [email protected] to book a visit.

We have also provided 42 new on street cycle storage locations since the start of lockdown, giving much needed extra safe storage space for bikes in residential areas. There are now over 110 storage locations in Camden with more to follow.

We are also delivering a network of dockless bike hire bays, starting with 70 bays in the area of the borough south of the Euston Road, providing a high quality alternative to public transport and freeing up pavement space for pedestrian movement and social distancing. These will all be installed by the end of September.

We are planning more healthy school streets and you can also discover more on our existing schemes including watching a video on how our very first healthy school street at St Joseph’s made children feel safer.

Wednesday 23 September

Safer travel – making cycling easier and more enjoyable

We know that more people are cycling due to Covid-19 – we’ve seen weekday cycle flows at two of our automatic cycle count point sites recording an average increase of 106% in cycling levels this August compared to last. So we want to support all those thinking of getting on a bike to do so as safely and as comfortably as possible.

Right now, we know that many people will be taking up cycling for the first time or may be less experienced at cycling on London’s busy roads. This is why we are making lots of improvements to the cycling network across Camden as well as offering support to new cyclists.

Since lock down, we have improved existing cycle facilities such as at Goods Way where we added bollards to separate cyclists from traffic as well as adding four brand new pop up cycle lanes with ambitious plans for more. Our cycling ambitions map

Our latest new cycling facilities include:

Chalk Farm Road – we are making a number of changes including installing a pop-up cycle lane on Chalk Farm Road between the junctions of Castlehaven Road and Prince of Wales Road, as well as improving the junction at Ferdinand Street for pedestrians and cyclists.
Highgate Road – where we have made the bus lane 24 hours to improve bus journey times for customers and provide a safer space for cyclists at all times.
St Pancras Way – Construction starts in September on a new protected southbound cycle lane.
Prince of Wales Road – we are installing new protected cycle lanes in each direction, which will be completed by the end of September.
York Way – following on from the installation of pop up cycle lanes between Freight Lane and Wharfdale Road we are now extending the segregated cycle lanes further north between Hungerford Road and Freight Lane.

We’ve also provided 42 new on street cycle storage locations since the start of lockdown, giving much needed extra safe storage space for bikes in residential areas. There are now over 110 storage locations in Camden with more to follow.

For new cyclists or those wanting to brush up on their skills we have restarted our free cycle skills training courses, available for all Camden children and adults https://www.camden.gov.uk/cycle-skills-and-bike-maintenance-courses

Camden is also partnering with Lime bikes and will be offering 20% discounts on all Lime rides from 6.00 to 9.30am on weekdays through September, for the morning commutes and school runs. For more information please visit the app: https://www.li.me/en-us/home

For more information on the improvements we are making to support cycling across the borough visit our dedicated webpages.

Friday 28 August

Camden libraries update

On Monday 7 September, Kilburn, Kentish Town and Camden Town libraries will reopen to give customers limited computer access, as well as the opportunity to browse and borrow books. To keep customers safe, libraries will be kept to limited numbers and browsing time will be a maximum of 20 minutes. The libraries will have a one-way system in place along with sanitisation stations and regular cleaning.

The libraries will open Monday to Saturday from 10.30am to 3.30pm. For more information on the services available at Camden libraries, visit camden.gov.uk/libraries

Thursday 20 August

Supporting safer travel in Camden by widening the pavement in three more areas

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created new road safety challenges as well as affecting our local economy. We want to make it easier and safer for people to walk and cycle locally, shop on their local high street, reach their local green spaces, schools and NHS sites, all while maintaining physical distancing. As lock down measures continue to ease the Council is also committed to supporting our local businesses to reopen safely and successfully

Following on from our successful implementation of four Streateries across Camden and five pavement widening schemes we are now widening the pavement in three further busy Camden locations:

Heath Street
Regent’s Park Road
Brecknock Road

Each one of these locations were suggested and supported by people using our online engagement tool Commonplace. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to make suggestions. We are continuing to implement changes across the borough based on your comments. This Commonplace tool is now closed but you can read all the comments made on the website. https://camdensafetravel.commonplace.is/

Widening the pavement in these three vibrant locations will make it easier for people to maintain physical distance while shopping locally, visiting their local green space, queuing at local shops and visiting local amenities all without having to step into the road. Widening the pavement also helps to support local businesses to keep their customers safe and boost business by providing a safe space to have tables and chairs with room to move alongside them.

For more detail on all the changes in these three locations you can visit our website https://www.camden.gov.uk/making-travel-safer-in-camden or contact us via: [email protected] / 020 7974 4444.

Thursday 13 August

Supporting business to reopen safely through four new Streateries in Camden

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created new challenges for our local economy and as lock down measures continue to ease the Council is committed to supporting our local businesses to reopen safely and successfully. As part of this we are working to provide new ways to support and boost our local high streets and town centres whilst keeping them safe and secure for our communities.

Creating Streateries is one way we are supporting businesses to operate differently to ensure they are COVID secure. A Streatery is a car free outdoor dining space for restaurants, cafes and other businesses to place tables and chairs. Providing more temporary space for these businesses helps customers to physically distance whilst eating/drinking out. This will help boost hospitality businesses by giving more space for customers to take advantage of the remainder of the summer weather (and potentially for longer).

Following on from the successful Streatery in Belsize Village we are creating a further four Streateries in South End Green, Charlotte Street, Goodge Street and Drummond Street. At South End Green we will widening pavements in the area as well as relocating the bus stand for the 168. On Charlotte Street the road will be change to one way southbound with widened pavements and a new cycle lane. On Goodge Street and Drummond Street widening pavements will give more space alongside space for loading and access.

In all these areas the new space will allow cafes and restaurants to serve customers alfresco by adding tables and chairs to the pavement and/or road. These physically distanced tables will help boost the local economy, whilst keeping customers safe.

More Streateries are planned as we continue to work closely with local Business Improvement Districts and stakeholders to create a series of Streateries across Camden. Creating local Streateries is one way in which the council is responding to the impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19), they are part of a wider range of measures which are being put in place to make travel in Camden Safer. You can find out more about these changes on our website https://www.camden.gov.uk/making-travel-safer-in-camden. We are also relaxing planning and licensing restrictions in line with government guidance until the 30^th September 2021. Full guidance on these changes can be found on our website. www.camden.gov.uk/business-support.

For more detail on all the changes in these two locations you can visit our website https://www.camden.gov.uk/making-travel-safer-in-camden or contact us via: [email protected] / 020 7974 4444

Thursday 13 August

Camden supports cultural venues to access funding

The Council is running a series of online workshops in partnership with local cultural organisations to support those planning to make an application to the Culture Recovery fund.

The workshops will provide essential information about the fund, the application process and will talk through the application questions. Two workshops are currently planned on the following dates:

Friday 14 August 11am– 12.30pm. This session is primarily targeted to Grass Roots Music Venues operators, however anyone interested in attending this session should email [email protected] to register interest in attending the workshop.
Tuesday 24 August 2.30pm – 4pm. This is an open workshop for anyone that is eligible to apply to the ACE Culture Recovery Fund. Please email [email protected] to register interest in attending the workshop

Find out more information about funding available to cultural organisations.

Wednesday 12 August

Camden libraries

On Monday 17 August, the Council will launch a ‘Request and Read’ service at Swiss Cottage, Holborn and Highgate libraries. Simply order your books online or over the phone, then pick them up from a counter in the library. On return all books will then be quarantined for 72 hours before becoming available for reissue.

Camden library book returns will be accepted at any of our open libraries

West Hampstead, Pancras Square, Queen’s Crescent (from now)
Swiss Cottage, Holborn (from 17 August)
Highgate (from 18 August).

Pancras Square, West Hampstead and Queen’s Crescent libraries are currently open for computer access only.

Please remember that it is now mandatory to wear a face covering when visiting a library.

Find out more and order books

Monday 3 August

Camden's libraries

We are pleased to reopen the first of Camden’s libraries today (Monday 3 August). Pancras Square, West Hampstead and Queen’s Crescent libraries will open to give customers limited access to computers only.

This is part of our phased approach to reopening following Public Health England guidelines.

Visitors won’t need to book a place as computers will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The libraries will operate to amended opening hours, 10.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Saturday.

Libraries will have a number of measures in place to keep residents and staff safe. These include:

Computers spaced to allow social distancing
Regular cleaning between users
Library users are asked to use face coverings in line with government guidance. Library staff will also be provided with PPE
Family PC use is limited to one adult and one child only
Customers are limited to one session of up to one hour per day

Find out more about our plans to reopen Camden libraries.

Monday 27 July

Free business courses for residents

Camden Council has invested £23,500 to enable PopUp Business School to run a free online business start-up course for Camden residents in September.

The two-week course is aimed at residents who want to start or restart their own business and runs from 10am-3pm, Monday 7 – Friday 18 September. Residents can sign up for this course today.

Find out more

Friday 17 July

Making travel Safer in Camden – Changes in Seven Dials in response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

We are continuing to make fast paced changes to streets across Camden in response to Coronavirus (COVID-19). From the 24 July we will be undertaking a number of changes in Seven Dials to make it safer and easier for you to walk and cycle to key destinations as well as supporting this important commercial area as businesses continue to reopen.

Seven Dials is a busy mixed-use area of Central London and is home to over 150 independent retail and restaurant /café businesses as well as three hotels, three theatres, hundreds of office workers and over 290 residential apartments. We know from previous engagement with the local community and stakeholders that there is large amounts of rat running traffic cutting across the area especially via Mercer Street and Monmouth Street.

As a busy commercial location with high pedestrian footfall there was an existing need for improved pedestrian safety and amenities which was being explored before the pandemic, these plans have now been expanded and accelerated. We are also responding to comments may be the public as this area was also highlighted by Camden residents and stakeholders on our online engagement tool as a location which needed improvements in response to the pressures of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The website is now closed for suggestions but you can still read the comments.

To tackle these road safety issues and support the local economy, we are making a number of changes to make it easier and safer for people to walk and cycle locally while reducing rat-running.

We are going to be reducing through traffic by adding bollards to a number of streets with some 24 hour restrictions and some timed restrictions, in addition to changes to traffic direction. Alongside traffic free streets, parking and loading spaces will be removed from across the area and given over to pedestrians. These changes will make the area quieter and safer for pedestrians and cyclists, helping “re-open” this important commercial area, and provide more space for people to physically distance.

Access for residents, emergency services and refuse lorries will be maintained and new parking and loading facilities provided in other locations. We are also adding cycle stands and space for a dockless bike hire bay to create new facilities for cyclists.

For more detail on all the changes you can visit our website https://www.camden.gov.uk/making-travel-safer-in-camden or contact us via email: [email protected] or call: 020 7974 4444.

Wednesday 8 July

Citizens’ Assembly to improve health and care in Camden restarts

Camden’s first ever Citizens’ Assembly looking at the future of health, care and wellbeing restarted online last week (29 June), giving residents the opportunity to help shape the future of health and social care in the borough.

Find out more

Tuesday 7 July

Camden teams up with leading tech companies to deliver online work experience for the borough’s students

Camden Council, alongside high-profile organisations such as Google, Skanska and the Francis Crick Institute, have developed a virtual programme giving students the opportunity to gain valuable work experience during lockdown.

250 local students in Years 11, 12 and 13 are taking part in a number of online placements in June and July to gain the skills and confidence needed to help them in a future career.

Find out more

Monday 6 July

Camden’s libraries

Following the most recent guidance from government, we are working on plans to make sure Camden’s libraries can be opened safely. This will include a phased approach to reopening, with limited computer access available at two libraries first. This approach will be followed in the remaining venues over the summer period.

During this time we will continue to offer our digital library and expand our range of online events and resources. During the coronavirus outbreak, the Home Library Service (HLS) has delivered books to residents on the government’s shielded list. Over the summer, the service will resume deliveries to its existing housebound customers with an aim to expand its offer to new clients.

Protecting residents and staff remains our priority and we are working to make sure that safety measures are in place before reopening. This includes completing full risk assessments of all our libraries in consultation with our union colleagues. We will release more information on our steps to reopening with dates very soon. We look forward to welcoming residents back to Camden’s libraries.

Friday 3 July

Stay safe and follow the guidance this weekend

This weekend (4 & 5 July), some lockdown restrictions will be eased and many businesses including bars, pubs and restaurants will reopen. If you’re heading out please stay safe and follow the guidance in place:

Keep 2m apart from others where possible
Plan ahead to check if a business will be busy or if you need to book
Walk or cycle instead of using public transport
Use cashless payments
Wear face coverings where you cannot maintain a 2m distance
Wash your hands regularly

If you’re visiting Camden’s parks or open spaces please keep a safe distance from others, do not BBQ in parks and take your littler home when bins aren’t provided. Our frontline teams will be out across Camden over the weekend to make sure residents and business are staying safe. We’re also working closely with the police to monitor and address any issues. If you’re concerned about a business not operating safely or want to report an issue, use the contacts below:

Report antisocial behaviour at [email protected] or call 020 7974 2915
If you’re concerned about a business breaching their licence report it online or call 020 7974 4444.
For issues with noise and nuisance, or security on our estates call 020 7974 4444
Call 101 to report a crime or 999 if it is an emergency

Friday 3 July

Making travel safer in Camden – providing new cycling facilities

We know that more and more Camden residents are taking up cycling as a result of Coronavirus (COVID-19). We want to make it easier and safer for people to cycle around the borough but also to provide the infrastructure to support them to keep their bikes safe locally.

Transport for London has suggested there could be more than a 10-fold increase in kilometres cycled compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. More people than ever are choosing to walk or cycle, as the capacity of public transport is greatly reduced due to the need to physically distance. We are already seeing evident of this in Camden, as weekend cycle flows at three automatic cycle count point sites in Camden have recorded an average increase of 120% in cycling levels this May compared to last.

To support safer cycling we are both improving existing cycle routes and adding new ones including:

Goods Way, where we have introduced bollards separating cyclists from traffic and widening the existing lanes
York Way, where we are working with Islington Council to create new protected cycle lanes on both sides of the road
Gray’s Inn Road, where we are delivering an exciting scheme to improve cycling and pedestrian facilities including new segregated cycle lanes between Harrison Street and High Holborn

We have ambitious plans for extending our cycle network with new pop up cycle lanes you can view these plans on our online map. You can also track our progress with all the schemes we have been delivering since lockdown began. Additionally we continue to loan bikes free of charge to key workers and cargo bikes to Camden families supporting more people to cycle locally.

In support to the new and improved cycle ways we are also adding new residential cycle storage facilities at various locations across the borough including at:

Ampton Place
Regents Square
Rochester Square
Islip Street
Gilden Crescent
Parkhill Road

These locations provide covered and secured storage for bikes allowing more people to keep bikes, especially where indoor space is limited.

We are also going to be delivering a network of dockless bike hire bays, starting with 70 bays in the area of the borough south of the Euston Road, providing a high quality alternative to public transport and freeing up pavement space for pedestrian movement and social distancing.

For more information on road safety changes we are making in response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) visit our dedicated webpages.

Thursday 2 July

Camden publishes Outbreak Plan to support its communities as coronavirus lockdown eases

On Tuesday 30 June, the Council published its plans to prevent local outbreaks of coronavirus by continuing to support all residents, communities and business to understand and follow public health advice.

This includes advice to have a test if you show symptoms and to help trace people who you have been in contact with via NHS Test and Trace so that they can then self-isolate and help prevent further spread of infection.

Find out more

Wednesday 1 July

'We must take action to tackle coronavirus inequalities’, says Council leader

Camden is taking action to address the unequal impacts of COVID-19 on Black, Asian and minority ethnic residents in the borough and prevent existing inequalities from getting even wider as a result of this pandemic.

In a report published today, the Council explores how disproportionality is affecting residents locally and outlines six key topics that will be examined to better understand the issues Black, Asian and minority ethnic residents are facing whilst developing actions to protect those in need.

Find out more

Making travel Safer in Camden – improving cycling on York Way

We are continuing to make fast paced changes to streets across Camden in response to Coronavirus (COVID-19). In partnership with Islington Council we are introducing a number of improvements to cycling on York Way over this summer starting from the 6^th July.

York Way is already a busy cycle route with over 1300 people cycling each day, coupled with a poor road safety record with 15 cycling casualties recorded over the past 3 years. York Way was highlighted by Camden residents and stakeholders on our online engagement tool as a location which needed improvements in response to the pressures of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The website is now closed for suggestions but you can read the comments.

To tackle both these road safety issues and cater for the growing number of cyclists, we are making a number of changes to make it easier and safer for people to use this important cycle route.

The project is being delivered in three phases, with phase 1 starting on the 6^th July (phases 2 and 3 are subject to further approvals).

Phase 1: Between Wharfdale Road and Freight Lane:

Installing mandatory cycle lanes of between 1.5m and 2.5 metres wide on both sides of the road wherever possible, leaving a minimum vehicular travel lane (3.25m wide) in each direction.
Installing temporary ‘kerb and wands’ inside the white cycle lane marking to protect cyclists. Where there is a need for vehicles to reach ‘inset’ parking, rubber ‘orca’ kerbs will be installed to allow vehicles to drive over them.
Lengthening of advanced stop lines for cyclists at each junction to allow more space for cyclists to wait at junctions.
Installing of Shared Use Bus Boarders at northbound bus stops, to maintain protection of cyclists around bus stops, whilst still enabling bus passengers to board and alight from buses at the same level.
Removing paid and residential parking near Copenhagen Street to enable a safe continuous, cycle facility to be built leading up to the junction.
Removing off-peak hours parking facility on York Way between Crinan Street and Wharfdale Road.
Restricting the ability for vehicles to load next to the kerb between Freight Lane and Crinan Street to create an uninterrupted, safe cycling route.

More information:

Camden:

[email protected] / 020 7974 4444

https://www.camden.gov.uk/making-travel-safer-in-camden

Islington:

[email protected]

https://www.islington.gov.uk/roads/people-friendly-streets

Making travel safer in Camden – Gray’s Inn Road

Camden is continuing to deliver transport schemes across the borough which support sustainable transport. Making changes to support walking, cycling and public transport are more important than ever as we respond to the new road safety challenges caused by the impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Approval has now been given on a new scheme to improve cycling and walking along Gray’s Inn Road. The scheme was consulted on in winter 2019 and will bring road safety benefits and improvements to the public realm in this busy area.

The improvements will include:

New segregated cycle lanes in both directions on Gray’s Inn Road between Harrison Street and High Holborn making it safer and easier for cyclists to travel around the area.
Cycling improvements at the junction with Ampton Street/ Sidmouth Street and Calthorpe Street/ Guilford Street.
New continuous pavements at selected junctions with side streets giving pedestrians priority in these locations
Bus stops along the corridor are to be consolidated (reduced in number and relocated to maintain spacing) to minimize the impact on bus journey times and journey reliability.
Relocating parking and loading provision onto neighbouring side streets giving more space for pedestrians and cyclists while still supporting local business and resident use.

While this scheme was not designed in response to Coronavirus it will reallocate road space to favour pedestrians and cyclists giving more space for people to physically distance. As there is an immediate need for these safety improvements in response to Coronavirus we are using an Experimental Traffic Order, during the trial period we will work closely with businesses on Gray’s Inn Road to establish a sustainable and strategic Freight Action Plan for this corridor. Once made this order can be brought into force relatively quickly. The experimental scheme will run for 18 months and you are able to comment at any time on the changes we have implemented.

At the end of the trial period, we will not carry out another full public consultation on whether or not to make the scheme permanent. The decision on whether or not to make this scheme permanent will be taken using feedback provided and data collected during the trial period, as well as consideration of how this scheme contributes towards delivering Camden’s transport policies.

If you have any further questions or comments on the measures email: [email protected] or call us on 020 7974 4444.

Monday 29 June

Camden Council works with landlords to help tackle the impact of coronavirus

In April Camden Council convened a working group of landlords in the Borough to share best practice and co-ordinate opportunities to provide further support for retailers, food and drink and leisure operators as well as office occupiers across Camden.

The group, which has met twice already in sessions chaired by the council, is also reviewing individual responses to coronavirus to ensure a consistency of approach.

The working group, chaired by Councillor Danny Beales, Cabinet Member for Investing in Communities and an Inclusive Economy, comprises of representatives from Shaftesbury, British Land, LabTech, Derwent, The Office Group, Lazari, Bedford Estates, Argent and Landsec, working alongside council officers.

You can read more here.

Wednesday 24 June

Supporting families with free cargo bike loans

We have been working hard to find new ways to support our residents in response to the impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19). We already have over 20 bikes out on loan to Key workers helping them to get to and from work without having to use public transport which is currently running at a reduced capacity due to physical distancing requirements