An extended pedestrianisation of Queen’s Crescent is set to be trialed.
Cars will be banned between Bassett Street and Weedington Road. Restrictions will also be placed on vehicles on Grafton Road just north of the junction with Queen's Crescent, and on Weedington Road.
The scheme on the market street will initially run as a trial. After six months a public consultation will be held on whether the changes should become permanent. The works are due to begin on May 27, with the new measures expected to be implemented next week.
A previous consultation by Camden Council showed 49.7% of respondents agreeing with the plans for Queen’s Crescent – and 43.5% against the proposals.
The hours of operation for the car-free zone are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday between 11am and 7pm. The scheme will be enforced by traffic cameras.
Cllr Adam Harrison, Camden Council’s cabinet member for the environment, said: “We know from listening to local people that they want to make walking on Queen’s Crescent easier, to green the area, and to reduce the dominance of cars.
“Walking was by far the main way in which people told us they travelled to Queen’s Crescent. Car ownership in this area is low while the number of pedestrians is high.
“Residents have also been waiting a long time for plans to come forward, so I am pleased we are now able to bring this to trial.”
The existing street market, which already has driving restrictions in place, will continue to operate on Thursdays and Saturdays.
The current restrictions will be amended from Thursday 7am-5.30pm and Saturday 7am-6pm to Thursday and Saturday 7am-6pm.
An exemption for businesses needing to load will apply between the hours of 7pm-11am on Monday to Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. On Thursdays and Saturdays the loading exemption will run from 7pm-7am.
Cllr Harrison added: “We also want to introduce things that people asked for in the consultation such as seating, trees and running the market on additional days, as well as exploring how the new public space created by the trial could be used by the community and businesses.
“This could include activities and events, or food businesses using the trial area for temporary tables and chairs, as seen elsewhere as part of our successful streateries programme.”
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