BackAgreements made at Exhibition Road, London
Living Streets have welcomed the fact that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the Guide Dogs have come to a joint agreement on the Borough’s redevelopment of Exhibition Road in London. Work has already started in the area to strip back street clutter to improve access and make the area more pedestrian-friendly.
Late last year, Guide Dogs started proceedings for a Judicial Review due to their fears that the scheme at Exhibition Road could be dangerous for visually impaired people as a result of the removal of kerbs from the street side, creating a single surface for both motor traffic and pedestrian traffic to share. The Judicial Review plans have now been put on hold following the Guide Dogs’ discussions with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Trials will be carried out to test the planned tactile paving to see if it helps visually impaired pedestrians navigate confidently. If not, the council has pledged to redesign the scheme so that it does.
Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive of Living Streets said:
“We are pleased that RBKC and Guide Dogs have reached an agreement and hope that work to redevelop the area will continue for the benefit of everyone. There were 100 accidents on Exhibition Road in Kensington over the past year highlighting why the street urgently needs to be re-designed. The 'naked streets' approach to urban design has great potential for improving the pedestrian environment; moving away from the car-centric streets created over the past fifty years will take courage, collaboration, and patience. It’s crucial that we are able to test out new schemes to combat streets that are cluttered, dangerous and unsightly experiences for pedestrians so we can ensure that we’re creating better streets for everyone. However to do this good consultation with local people is an essential pre requisite so that all users are able to use the street, which, is why we’re so pleased to see that an agreement has been made.”
Published on: 23/06/2010
