Fitzjohn's Ave sustainable street plan looking good

The Fitzjohn’s Avenue Sustainable Streetscape Project seems to me to be progressing extremely well. Some of you may remember that the Fitzjohn’s Blue Skies Group, as it became known, brought together members of the Sustainability Task Force (who also happened to be ward members affected by the School Run), the Fitzjohn’s Residents Association, STAG (the parents group) and the Camden Cycling Campaign. The Blue Skies Group developed out of a meeting of the School Run Review Body, which I was invited to address, and was an attempt to move on from the acrimonious row over parking permits.

We met a number of times last year and put together a plan for a sustainable Fitzjohn’s Avenue which was a key element in the subsequent Task Force Report on Transport. I also saw it as a chance to model something that could be of use right across Camden.

The key points were:

• Separated cycle lanes on both sides of Fitzjohn’s
• A 20 mph speed limit policed by average speed cameras
• Traffic calming measures including shared space at junctions and echelon parking on alternate sides which traffic would have to “slalom” around (see diagram below).

Residents, parents, schools, members all seemed to be very enthusiastic and in March of this year the Executive agreed that the plan should be explored further. Officers then put forward their own plan, and both plans and variations of them have been under discussion ever since, but my sense is that we're on the verge of a break-through and we'll be able to go out to public consultation very soon.

Separately, but also arising from a recommendation in the same Task Force Report, Camden’s transport team have been working hard on a school bus plan to get children out of cars and into Camden buses at no cost to Camden ie parents/schools pay. This could be in place by the beginning of next term. It’s open to state and private school pupils, but the reality is that the private pupils are more likely to use it because they’re coming from further afield. Either way, if it gets kids out of cars, reduces the School Run problem, and doesn’t cost Camden, then I think we should be happy. Read here for more in the Ham&High.