Plans for Highbury Corner published for consultation

Transport for London and Islington Council have published plans to transform Highbury Corner and consultation is now underway.

New plans to improve safety and transform one of the busiest parts of the capital have been published by TfL and Islington council, which would see the western side of the roundabout completely removed and replaced by a major new public space.

The work proposed would make the area more accessible by improving pedestrian facilities allowing more people to move around Highbury Corner safely and directly, including widened crossings at the junctions of Holloway Road, Canonbury Road, and Upper Street.

The removal of the western side of the roundabout would allow new segregated lanes for cyclists to be created on all three remaining sides of the road, improving safety as cyclists make up 22% of all traffic using the roundabout. It would also change the current one-way gyratory into a two-way traffic system.

The work comes as part of TfL’s £4Bn Road Modernisation Plan to radically transform the way the capital’s roads and public spaces are used.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Highbury Corner heaves with hundreds of thousands of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians every day. It is a challenging area to navigate but the changes we are proposing will be a vast improvement, particularly for the many thousands of passengers who disgorge onto the pavement from Highbury & Islington station; and also for the cyclists who will find new segregated cycle lanes and signalised crossings that will make the area far safer for them.”

Cllr Claudia Webbe, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said: “This scheme will transform an area that is currently congested for pedestrians and difficult to navigate for cyclists. We aim to create an open, attractive and pleasant area that reclaims the enclosed trees from the traffic island for people to enjoy. Alongside this will be a much safer road environment for cyclists, creating a unique destination around one of Islington’s major transport interchanges.”

The 100-year-old Highbury Corner Bridge, which carries Holloway Road over the railways, is being replaced and will safeguard a vital arterial road for the future and finish in 2017.

The proposed improvements at Highbury Corner roundabout would not start until 2018, after the bridge has been replaced, to minimise impact to road users.

The public can respond to the Highbury Corner consultation, which closes on 20 March. All comments will be considered and TfL and Islington Council will publish a response in autumn 2016.

 

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