TfL considering modifying cycle lane on Blackfriars Bridge

Just got this response back from TfL (its quite lengthy):
Dear Mr Brain-Stew

Thank you for your e-mail, dated 22 February 2011, to Jamila Barrett regarding the planned changes to the cycle lanes at Blackfriars Bridge. As I am certain you will appreciate, we have been receiving a lot of correspondence on this subject recently so please accept our sincerest apologies for the delay in responding to your query. In order to respond to your concerns satisfactorily please permit me to give an overview of the situation before responding to specific points of contention.

The drawing of the proposed changes which was circulated on the internet amongst cyclists’ groups was recently issued for stakeholder consultation by Transport for London (TfL). This plan proposed a cycle right turn facility from Victoria Embankment onto Blackfriars Bridge. This element is yet to be approved and subject to change following consultation. In order to put this scheme in context it has been superimposed onto the proposed Network Rail station works in this drawing.

The Network Rail proposal has been approved internally by TfL and City of London, as required under Network Rail’s Traffic and Works Obligation. The drawing for this wider scheme was used for initial engagement with key stakeholders in February 2010. At this initial engagement the City of London consulted the local cycle group Cyclists in the City.

A drawing has now been provided to outline the key features of both schemes and how they differ from the original highway layout prior to any station works.
TfL is acutely aware of the dangers to cyclists which this location has posed in the past. A safety audit has been conducted on both the Network Rail proposal and TfL’s cycle right turn element. Within these audits the safety of the proposals were assessed from the perspective of all road users including cyclists. These audits were carried out in line with TfL’s Road Safety Audit procedure.

In 2004 TfL redesigned the road layout on the bridge to better accommodate cyclists. It is important to note that whilst proposals are in place to alter the junction due to the upgraded Network Rail station, the road layout on the bridge will not be changed.

When considering the proposed changes at the location various modelling programmes were used to assess the effects on all road users. Design development was carried out in the TRANSYT traffic modelling programme to establish the traffic impact of various options. This was supported by LEGION modelling which is a modelling software specifically designed to model the impact on pedestrian movements through and around a proposed junction. This software was used to define the location of the proposed crossings. VISSIM (a more detailed traffic modelling) was carried out in support of the TRANSYT modelling, which included the modelling of cyclists to establish the overall impact of the scheme.

In response to fears that TfL are prioritising drivers’ concerns over those of cyclists, the proposals are giving no more carriageway space to motor traffic, indeed on New Bridge Street the width available for general traffic reduces from 10.6m to between 9.6 and 9.2m wide. Where additional white lining is being provided on New Bridge Street southbound to define an additional lane, this is within the original carriageway width. In the original scheme the traffic behaved in a three lane flow (although this was not officially marked) and by marking in this way lane discipline will be improved, reducing the risk of collisions caused by weaving and side swipes. The organisation of traffic within the junction in this manner will also prevent very significant queuing.

Unfortunately the proposed scheme requires the removal of the southbound cycle lane outside the station entrance. This is required to accommodate a footway extension. Legion modelling of the expected pedestrian numbers entering and exiting the station has shown that for safety reasons an extension of the proposed footway is required. Furthermore the footway extension is required by DfT to provide sufficient space for station security measures.

Unfortunately it is not possible to extend the carriageway on the western side to provide space to accommodate both the footway extension and the southbound cycle lane outside the station entrance as the tear-drop island is located over areas with limited load bearing due to shallow utilities including a large gas main. As stated above, it is necessary to mark three lanes of motorised traffic to avoid long queues back through the junction at peak time and to prevent widespread congestion. Although three lanes are marked, motorised traffic will not be using any more carriageway space than was originally allocated.

TFL is not expecting to see an increase in the amount of traffic using this junction from the original levels in 2008 (prior to any station works). We would also expect to see more constant traffic speeds due to the proposed road markings improving the lane discipline of drivers.

We have considered requests to reduce the speed of the traffic by imposing a reduced speed limit through the location. 20mph zones are generally more suited to residential areas rather than the principal road network, of which Blackfriars Bridge is a part. While TfL has no objection to the principle of 20mph zones we do not believe that this would be suitable for Blackfriars Bridge.

In a number of areas the proposals are giving carriageway space to cyclists. At the southbound New Bridge Street and westbound Queen Victoria Street stop line flares have been removed, reducing the carriageway width from 3 lanes to 2, resulting in right turning cyclists only having to traverse a single lane of traffic where previously they had to traverse two. Advanced Stop Lines (ASL’s) are also being provided for cyclists at all of the approaches to the junction and pedestrian crossings.

Unfortunately the reduction of the cycle lane from 2m to 1.5m northbound through the junction is required to accommodate the widening of the footway which is currently below standard. 1.5m cycle lanes are used throughout central London and are in line with TfL guidance for safe facilities. Whilst TfL would prefer to provide a wider cycle lane this is not possible given the spatial constraints of the scheme in this location.

With regards to concerns relating to pedestrian traffic across the junctions, the expected pedestrian movements have been modelled within a software package called LEGION. This was used to determine the location of the proposed crossings to ensure that they are on the most direct desire lines for pedestrians.

Unfortunately due to the expected numbers of pedestrians once the station has been upgraded it was not viable to maintain the temporary crossing in its current location on New Bridge Street. Modelling has shown that the two major desire lines for pedestrians are between the station entry/exit and the eastern and western side of New Bridge Street. It was not considered viable to maintain both crossings on New Bridge Street due to traffic capacity issues. However, it should be noted that subway entrances 8 and 1 will remain open allowing access between Watergate and the Blackfriars pub.

Finally, we have received many comments relating to the construction of a ‘traffic island’, from the plans, which splits the northbound flow of traffic through the junction. This is not a traffic island. All traffic islands and footway extensions are marked in blue on the latest drawing. What is being thought of as an island is only proposed to be road marking (hatching) which will be at carriageway level.

I hope that the above information has proved interesting to you and goes someway to alleviating your concerns. Please be assured that TfL takes the safety of everyone using the network as a priority. I thank you for your correspondence and apologise once again for the delay in responding to your queries. If there is any other matter which you think I may be able to assist with, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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Yours sincerely

[FONT=Arial]Alexander Jackson[/FONT]
[SIZE=3][FONT=Arial]Customer Service Advisor[/FONT][/SIZE]

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