Here is the letter that Living Streets KX wrote.

Kings Cross Centre (Gyratory One way system)

The A501 Pentonville Road, Gray’s Inn Road, Acton Street, A201 Penton Rise, King’s Cross Road, the A5203 Wharfdale Road, Caledonian Road, York Way, and the A5202 Pancras Road, Midland Road have excessive motor traffic speed and volume, working against a safe and pleasant walking environment where people live and work in the station interchange area, the town centre of King's Cross.
The Mayor has asked TfL Streets via consultants to study the area and the neighbourhood forum in King's Cross would like to suggest how the area would be made more economically viable, healthy and liveable. For example, we would like to improve the urban environment in line with the "Reimagining urban spaces to help revitalise our high streets" (DCLG report July 2012) and Manual for Streets 2 (CIHT 2010)
Would you please work together with us?

Dear Govinden Ruben

We can wait until after the games, but we would like an expert officer with responsibility as the contact person on this one.

Sincerely

Gregory
-----Original Message-----

The Transport for London Press Office is now operating full time
on the Games.

I am working shifts in a different role and I’m not covering my
usual responsibilities.  If you need to speak to some one about
a non-Games related issue please contact the Press Office on
0845 604 4141 and ask for the Business As Usual Desk.  If you
are calling about a Games related issue please call the same
number and ask to speak to someone working on the Games.

Postponed until 13 August after the Olympics for the TfL Press Office to find a responsible TfL officer with whom we can correspond.

David Goudge for Transport for London promised that it would get back to us "after the Olympics / Paralympics"

Further to your email of 8 Aug 2012 almost two months later, as promised after the Olympic Games period, we have not been made aware of any dedicated TfL website related to this problem and the Gyratory study. A dedicated TfL contact person as requested has not been allocated.

Through Living Streets, we have also seen a draft TfL document nine days ago which indicates that pedestrian counts have not been undertaken and pedestrian modelling of the unsafe links and junctions has not been undertaken. These assessments are necessary good practice in design of the public realm.

The existing 2008 PERS audits which TfL commissioned from TRL with help from Living Streets were not referenced in this recent draft report. The audits showed most of the junctions were unsafe for pedestrians.
(http://kingscrossenvironment.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/kings-cross-st-pancras-pers-csa-final-report-walkability.pdf)

Please help urgently. Could you please tell us:

1. Where is the dedicated website for the gyratory study?
2. Who is the TfL contact person?
3. Why is there no assessment of the pedestrian environment in this problem area?
4. Why are TfL's own Valuing Urban Realm Toolkit 2012 and the Manual for Streets 2 (2011 CIHT) not applied to this important pedestrian public realm area London's significant inner-city international surface transport interchange?
5. Why is the 2008 PERS audit ignored?

sincerely,
Gregory

-----Original Message-----

Your ref.:         

Our ref.:         1010982127 / DG

Date:              08.08.2012

[improve King's Cross square, surface interchange and town centre email]

Dear Madam or Sir,

Re.: Kings Cross

Thank you for your e-mail of July 23, and for the interest your
group expressed in participating in the Kings Cross gyratory
study which has recently been commissioned by Transport for
London (TfL).

As you may be aware, this study will consider the future
strategic operation of the gyratory, with specific focus on the
possibility of returning the existing one-way roads to two-way
operation.

TfL recently met with elected representatives from both The
London Borough of Islington and The London Borough of Camden to
discuss the objectives for the scheme, as well as the most
effective way of engaging with the community. Further to these
discussions, TfL will be meeting members of the community
(including yourselves), either to discuss objectives, or to
refine possible options. Invitations to these sessions will be
sent out over the coming months. Beforehand, we shall welcome
any suggestions or comments to be submitted via a dedicated
web-site. This site is due to be launched shortly once the
Olympic Games are concluded.

Thank you once again for having written to us on this matter.
Please revert to me if you have any further queries or concerns.

Yours sincerely,

David Goudge

Customer Service Advisor – London Streets
Transport for London
Customer Experience
4th floor, Zone B5
14 Pier Walk
London SE10 0ES
 

DO NOT DELETE.............................
{ticketno:[2886746]}
DO NOT DELETE.............................

Original Text

From: [improve King's Cross square, surface interchange and town centre email]
To: [Transport for London problem reporting email] <[email address]>
CC: [email address] <[email address]>
Sent: 23.07.12 17:30:04
Subject: Kings Cross Centre (Gyratory One way system)

Dear Transport for London,

The A501 Pentonville Road, Gray’s Inn Road, Acton Street, A201
Penton Rise, King’s Cross Road, the A5203 Wharfdale Road,
Caledonian Road, York Way, and the A5202 Pancras Road, Midland
Road
have excessive motor traffic speed and volume, working against a
safe and pleasant walking environment where people live and work
in
the station interchange area, the town centre of King's Cross.
The
Mayor has asked TfL Streets via consultants to study the area
and
the neighbourhood forum in King's Cross would like to suggest
how
the area would be made more economically viable, healthy and
liveable. For example, we would like to improve the urban
environment in line with the "Reimagining urban spaces to help
revitalise our high streets" (DCLG report July 2012) and Manual
for
Streets 2 (CIHT 2010) Would you please work together with us?

------------------

Here is some information from FixMyTransport about the location
of
this issue:

Location name: King's Cross St. Pancras Underground Station

Area: King's Cross

Easting: 530282.0

Northing: 182975.0

----------

To view a map of the precise location of this problem, or to
provide an update on the problem, please visit the following
link:

http://www.fixmytransport.com/campaigns/2065

[ PLEASE NOTE: Your replies to this problem report will be sent
to
Living Streets KX and will be published online. This message was
sent via FixMyTransport.com - a not-for-profit service dedicated
to
helping people get public transport problems resolved. If there
is
a more appropriate email address for messages about this type of
problem, please let us know by visiting
<http://www.fixmytransport.com/feedback>. This will help improve
the service for people travelling. We also welcome any other
feedback you may have. ]

We have written to Transport for London to ask for an update on progress with the assessment of the pedestrian environment in the King's Cross St. Pancras surface transport interchange area.

We have asked for a contact name, the location of the dedicated website which was promised after the Olympic Games period, and we asked why pedestrians are not being considered in the designs for the public realm in the area.

Deputy Mayor (Transport) Isabel Dedring, also a Camden resident, spoke with local residents at the invitation of L B Camden last night at the Camden Centre, adjoining Camden Town Hall. She was aware that the King's Cross Gyratory area was being reviewed, but was not aware of any specific timelines or meeting dates for the King's Cross gyratory consultation, nor were other Camden or TfL staff present at the meeting.

This website has just appeared:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/24344.aspx

The above TfL webpage (24344) states that "Work has started on a feasibility study (the first part of the strategic review) and we have appointed a consultant to examine the area. The study will focus on the following roads:
A201 Penton Rise, Kings Cross Road
A501 Pentonville Road, Gray's Inn Road, Acton Street, Swinton Street
A5202 Pancras Road, Midland Road, Goods Way
A5203 Caledonian Road, Wharfdale Road
A5200 York Way
We are working with the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington and representatives from cycling and pedestrian groups to develop the objectives of the review.
Progress meetings will be held throughout the feasibility study, which local community groups will be invited to.
Once this is done, we will generate a number of proposals through a series of workshops with key representative groups.
Further engagement will then be undertaken to consider which proposals we should develop further.
The preferred options will be announced by summer 2013."

The names of Kings' Cross community groups to be consulted, such as pedestrian and cyclist groups, the neighbourhood forum, etc., have not been revealed, but the method and objectives for the feasibility study will be of key importance to public realm, noise, pollution, vehicle speed and volume, high street footfall, accessibility, pedestrian crossing times, etc.

An email address has been provided: kingscrossgyratory@tfl.gov.uk

The LB Camden Senior Transport Planner responsible for this project, as announced at the meeting last night is Antony Hollyway:
mailto:Antony.holloway@camden.gov.uk

TfL and its consultants have not held a progress meeting since the review was launched in December 2011

TfL undertook a report one Town Centre Viability last year 2011. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/customer-research/town-centre-study-2011-report.pdf

TfL undertook a report one Town Centre Viability last year 2011. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/customer-research/town-centre-study-2011-report.pdf

TfL undertook a report on Town Centre Viability last year 2011. (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/customer-research/town-centre-study-2011-report.pdf) King's Cross town centre was overlooked, although it is part of an international transport hub with three major train stations in the immediate area (An international station and two British stations as well as an underground station with six underground lines).

At a meeting chaired by Cr Jonathon Simpson yesterday 8 Nov 2012, Camden officer antony.holloway@camden.gov.uk and his transport dept. colleague revealed there has already been an 'objective setting meeting' in 2012 - as yet inconclusive. Focus groups are planned by TfL for late November.

Camden promised that the gyratory regeneration would be transformative and wide-ranging rather than motor traffic led. It was agreed that Camden would ensure the "Study progress update website" tfl.gov.uk/kingscrossgyratory should reflect progress information such as meetings between Camden Islington and TfL and agreement on scope or objectives.

Via the chair Cr Simpson, the transport planners agreed to ensure proper evidence is gathered of pedestrian movements at junctions and links (PERS assessments etc) and that economic and environmental benefits of public realm improvement are made part of the scope of the gyratory review.

Meetings will be on the 20th and 27th of November at KCBNA 51 Argyle Street

Our Local Group has emailed TfL to say we wish these 4 issues addressed at the meeting

1. Validity of terms of community consultation and participation in the mayor's Gyratory Review (Aarhus Convention), in relation to local plans (Kings Cross Place Plan etc)
[ie how and why do we participate]

2. Tall Buildings and streetscape issues on the streets on the five routes and two boroughs which form part of the gyratory in question
[streetscape]

3. Evidence basis for review and (re)design / regeneration of pedestrian facilities and public realm on sixteen junctions and twelve roads and streets forming parts of the gyratory system (PERS evidence, TfL Valuing the Urban Realm Toolkit, Manual for Streets 2, etc.)
[public realm]

4. Evidence basis of vehicle speeds, modes and volumes in order to balance with pedestrian accessibility on the links and places which are part of the gyratory system
[balancing link and place]

A Local Campaigner DS came up with these comments

Were you aware that:
Kings Cross is one of the most air polluted areas in Europe.
Children near streets of a volume of 10.000 cars plus have a much higher likelihood to develop asthma and respiratory conditions. Blood tests have revealed that the white blood cells of nursery children in areas such as ours are attempting to fight off toxins that have entered their blood streams via air pollution.

All those living at Kings Cross are likely to have a shortened life expectancy unless emission levels are lowered.

The noise and pollution levels are above World Health Organization and European Union norms. Noise over 65 db (at Kings Cross sometimes over 75dB) has been deemed by WHO as detrimental to health

Several cyclists and pedestrians have been injured or killed in and around Kings Cross over the years.

The congestion zone and Green Zone of London is not as progressive in some other European cities, even though the pollution is worse.

London has the worst NOx pollution levels of any city in Europe. At Kings Cross they are even higher than in most parts of towns.

What could be decided upon:
More opportunities to cross
20 miles/h zone for all of Kings Cross, and narrowing of lanes to discourage speeding.
Two way lanes
Higher specs on noise of engines that can enter the inner city areas like Kings Cross
Enforcing Euro 6 car norms on all vehicles as soon as possible which limits No(x) and other pollutants
Dedicated and safe cycle lanes
Ensure that all buses that through Kings Cross have the new TfL filters attached, or are Euro 6 Norm.
Immediate set up of electric charging points for black cab drivers at all Cabbies rest stops so that when the electric black cab comes on the market the infrastructure is there to support it.
Toughening of environmental standards of what kind of vehicles are allowed in
Ask big local fleets e.g. to run their entire fleet on second generation bio-fuel (the one that does not compete with crops), hybrid, electric or another alternatives fuels, or in deed use work cycles where feasible and create additional recharging, refueling structures in or near Kings Cross, including many more electric charging points
Work with employers who still allow employees to come to to work by car. Where a car is essential, increased incentives for greener engines!
The mayor has announced that all Black Cabs are to be zero carbon by 2020. Prioritization of Kings Cross / St Pancras for any new black cab, such as the electric model being discussed.
More Hire Bike schema points.
Clear Deadlines
YOUR IDEA?

Flawed CCZ consultation - reward for polluters while local area users suffer worsening air quality

A fundamental problem with the Congestion Charging Zone consultation is the emphasis on "drivers" rather than people. Other stakeholders (in environment, noise, air quality, congestion, all which may potentially improve) who are merely breathing or otherwise using the public realm in the CCZ (for walking, cycling, commuting, shopping, resting, playing, living etc) are not valued as equal stakeholders.

"A street is a highway that has important public realm functions beyond the movement of traffic... most highways in built up areas can be considered as streets " Manual for Street 1 (2007) and Manual for Streets 2 (2010, p.2)

London (King's Cross) streets are not just for driving, but for living. The current daytime CCZ is inadequate to deter polluting vehicles and this consultation and the revenue collected seem cynical and insignificantly small steps towards improving its effects.

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/roads/congestioncharging/

TfL King's Cross has officially acknowledged the Danger Map: http://goo.gl/maps/M3t3U

kingscrossgyratory@tfl.gov.uk
Apr 3, 2013
Dear Mr Cowan
Thank you for your email.
We are in the process of developing the objectives for the Kings Cross Gyratory Study, and the detail contained within your email for consideration as part of this process.
Yours sincerely
Claire Alleguen