An Olympic legacy for Camden - greening the Euston Road

During the Olympic Games in 2012 two lanes of the Euston Road are going to be closed to normal traffic and reserved for Olympic vehicles, a bit like the Zil limousine lanes for communist bureaucrats during the time of the Soviet Union.

At first it sounds like the Olympic lanes will create chaos, but maybe, just maybe, they're a tremendous opportunity. How about this for a radical Olympic legacy for Camden - how about turning those two Olympic lanes into cycle lanes either side of a tree-lined walkway? The bikes can be directed back into the main traffic flow at junctions using advanced stop boxes (bike boxes).

This is an idea that came to Green Party councillor for Highgate, Cllr Maya de Souza, and I after we heard Roger Madelin of the Kings Cross developer Argent, speaking at the recent Camden Air Quality Summit. He pointed out that when the Channel Tunnel work was being done a few years ago, and the Euston Road went down to two lanes, people got used to the delays or simply stopped using the road.

Afterwards Cllr Maya de Souza and I had a combined 'eureka' moment - what if we don't turn those Olympic lanes back into normal traffic lanes, what if we use this as an opportunity to green one of the most polluted and dangerous thoroughfares in London?

So that's our challenge to the Mayor. Give Camden a real Olympic legacy. Turn those Olympic lanes into cycle lanes and a tree-lined walkway. Let's green the Euston Road.

If you live or work near the Euston Road, or if you travel through it regularly by foot or by bike, then please get in touch if you support this idea.