Proposals for the A100 Tower Bridge Road junction with Queen Elizabeth Street, Southwark

Overview

We are proposing to improve pedestrian crossing and cycle facilities at this junction and ban the left-turn (except cycles) southbound on Tower Bridge Road heading into Queen Elizabeth Street to reduce through-traffic and make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

What are we proposing?

Tower Bridge Road provides a north-south link across the River and is of strategic importance for general traffic as it is part of London’s inner ring-road and is the outer boundary of the congestion charging zone. It is also a key junction for cyclists, forming part of an east-west route on the south side of the River.

At the junction, the existing cycle and pedestrian refuge in the central reservation is narrow and becomes overcrowded, particularly during peak periods. Three arms of the junction are signalised while the Queen Elizabeth Street eastbound approach is give-way, creating conflict with cyclists. So we are proposing to:

Ban the left turn-for all vehicles (except southbound cyclists) from Tower Bridge Road heading into Queen Elizabeth Street eastbound to reduce conflict with cyclists and make the junction safer for all road users. Our counts show that up to 45 vehicles make this turn in the morning peak hour and 66 cyclists in the evening peak hour
Formalise pedestrian crossings on the southern, western and northern arms of the junction with the addition of pedestrian countdown, giving more information to pedestrians to inform their crossing decisions
Add two-stage right-turns for cyclists at the junction to reduce conflict with drivers
Extend the central reservation on Tower Bridge Road at the junction to give more space for pedestrians and cyclists waiting to cross
Improve road markings and add an Advance Stop Line for cyclists on the eastbound approach to the junction on Queen Elizabeth Street
Build-out the footway on the north-eastern side of Queen Elizabeth Street to give more space for pedestrians

We would also resurface the road at the junction and renew the footway.

These changes would mean southbound vehicles would need to take a different route into Queen Elizabeth Street eastbound as it would no longer be possible to turn into it from Tower Bridge Road. This would reduce through-traffic using residential streets. We also expect it would attract more cyclists to the already-busy cycle route by making it safer and giving continuity along the route and a link with the planned Cycle Superhighway 4.

If, following this consultation, we decide to go ahead with these improvements, we expect to carry-out the works in October 2016 to co-incide with the planned temporary closure of Tower Bridge for structural work (currently scheduled for October 2016 to January 2017) to minimise disruption in the area.

Drawing of proposals for A100 Tower Bridge Road junction with Queen Elizabeth Street