Did you know there’s soon to be an extra entrance and pedestrian footbridge over to Kentish Town station for access at night? Councillor Phil Jones (Cabinet Member for Sustainability) takes a look at a long-standing community demand that will help increase night time safety and hopefully reduce crime
Secluded, isolated and unwelcoming. Not words I would ever normally associate with Kentish Town (quite the opposite!) but that was how locals described night-time access to the Thameslink platforms at the station from Frideswide Place when asked by the council. Worse than that, 47 crimes were reported there in 2012 alone and the fear of crime amongst station users at night is high.
This is not a new problem. Following an investigation in 2006 a solution was identified: building a pedestrian bridge from the canopy area on Kentish Town Road over to the existing pedestrian bridge to the Thameslink platforms. This new bridge could be used at night and allow access via Frideswide Place to be closed (the idea of keeping the station open at night was explored but rejected due to security implications). The new footbridge plans were supported by the public following another consultation, but problems getting the right consents meant the funding was unfortunately lost.
Since then, local groups and Kentish Town councillors have pushed for action and the £185K needed was recently found through contributions from Camden council, TfL and Thameslink, and the consents secured. The new footbridge should be completed at the end of May. It’ll be gated and only open at night when the underground station is closed. This means it will not impact on any possible use of the canopy area for a market. The design includes an Oyster Card reader and CCTV.
Hopefully the new footbridge will mean people using the station at night feel safer and crime is reduced. But this is just one of the local transport safety issues where action is needed. Kentish Town Road still suffers from really poor casualty statistics for pedestrians and cyclists – the area north of the station has one of the worst accident records in the whole borough. There are high levels of through traffic on the main road and on side streets, clogging the area and belching dirty fumes for us all to breathe. A greener, less congested environment is needed and I’d like to see safety increased plus walking and cycling prioritised as the most sustainable forms of transport.
We need to ensure that local groups and individuals continue to be involved in shaping the proposals that come forward, which will be subject to eventual public consultation. So, Kentishtowners, leave your thoughts below…
Words: Phil Jones
15 thoughts on “Why It Matters: a new footbridge to K-Town station”
I’d love to see some kind of pedestrian access/bridge linking up Regis Road to the Queens Crescent area of Kentish Town. Could only help increase footfall in the market…
I believe there is one but the owner locked the gate that links the two roads due to drug users/addicts using the dark corners to use their wares. Would certainly make my daily journey to the tube quicker
As West Kentishtowners we agree with the improvement of Regis Road-Queen’s Crescent access whole-heartedly. Phil, please look into this with the funds allocated as it would definitely help both the market and residents’ daily journeys to the tube and high street.
Great that the Council are making funds available. Can any funds be allocated to support an extension of the Cycle Hire Network to include Kentish Town? 660 signatures on the petition:
http://www.kentishtowner.co.uk/2012/09/24/why-it-matters-boris-bikes-for-nw5/
I have been hoping that the new bridge would include a separate ticket machine for rail passengers enabling them to buy proper rail tickets and collect internet-purchased ones, see my campaign on ‘Fix my transport’:
http://www.fixmytransport.com/campaigns/install-a-machine-that-sells-rail-ti
I suggest that you petition to close the industrial estate if you want less traffic – UPS, Murphys, the recycling centre and the car pound can go somewhere else eh?
I am delighted that you are taking action to make Kentish Town safer but I would have thought that allowing one-way streets to be used as two-way by cyclists would have absolutely the opposite effect. It would increase the risk to pedestrians.
The cycle lane at the junction of Leighton road and KT road needs to be improved – cars always breech it. Also need to resurface Kentish town road which would make cycling much easier.
We desperately need to have several Lifts leading down to the Thameslink train platform! I wrote to TFL and Thameslink suggesting that they need to think about this. The stairs are steep and DANGEROUS: difficult for mothers with buggies, the over 60s, the disabled, children, people carrying suitcases. That’s about 45% of people who will be deterred to use Kentish Town train station! We have such good connections to Kings Cross St Pancras and Blackfriars and Brighton that it seems such a shame that the railway station is simply Not user friendly.
I echo calls for resurfacing. I’d also suggest regenerating businesses at Southern end of Fortess Road by allowing 20 minutes FREE parking by restoring short term parking bays. The spaces are there already and could be activated without affecting traffic flow.
The road between the Tally Ho and the fire station could looked at with a view to be made one-way to allow more parking or Boris bike bays and prevent rat running. Cycling not the complete answer for young or old due to the gradients here! It’d also help if more cyclists obeyed the lights!
Fortess Walk could not be made one way as it would prevent traffic from accessing Highgate Road from Fortess Road or vice-versa. Pretty important road for the fire station.
Good point!
Not to mention zebra crossings. I nearly get taken out by a cyclist at the zebra crossing on Leighton Road almost daily.
I agree, great idea, but how on earth did it cost £185K? I would thought about £10K!
£185k is an unbelievable sum now we can see what the “bridge” actually consists of. £10k sounds about right, maybe £20k. Sounds well dodgy to me!!!