Councillors of Camden and Islington met with local Kings Cross residents from across the area on Thursday 14th of April 2022 for a walk through the gyratory roads of Kings Cross discussing and highlighting necessary and pragmatic solutions for everyone’s safety on some of the roads. The group stopped at various junctions including Acton Street, Swinton Street, Kings Cross Road, Kings Cross Bridge (looking also at Caledonian Rd, York Way) and Pentonville Road as well as Pentonville Rise.

It was agreed that there was a lack of consistency in many places such as two lanes changing into single lanes, disconnected or missing cycle lanes, lack of pedestrian light crossings and a sudden increase of speed just before the traffic gets really dense. All these issues could be solved if oversight of the entire gyratory was maintained. Attempts to address just single sections in the past always left lots of open strings. At the same time, a general 20 Mile Speed limit and some consistency would help immensly.

The importance of King’s Cross and St. Pancras as a national and international travel and business hub was outlined, one that offered a window to the nation.

The history of the local community demanding improvements was outlined, which depending on how long one looked goes back into the 1960s, with different issues highlighted in the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s.

Both Camden and Islington Councillors promised to continue to explain to TFL these issues and demand that they are being addressed. The shared knowledge from different boroughs (Camden and Islington) and residents who live at Kings Cross for a long time demonstrated that TFL does not understand the roads properly and that it needs to be clarified.

Both residents and councillors agreed to ensure that this area remains a high priority.