The Building Centre, just off Tottenham Court Road, is a hub for professionals and those interested in city planning, home and building design and architecture.
Currently (until January 24th) they are running a small exhibit called Digital Cities: London’s Future. It takes a look at how digital technology can help our understanding of the way a city functions and inform planning decisions.
A proposal on how Oxford Circus could be remodelled to improve the experience for both pedestrians and drivers caught my eye.
Personally, I find that small, crowded patch of London to be one of the most frustrating pedestrian experiences in the city.
Intelligent Space (part of the Atkins Group) developed a set of improvements, including:
• A diagonal crossing solution.
• Pedestrian scramble crossing (i.e. traffic on all sides is stopped, and pedestrians cross en masse).
• Removal of stone barriers around the corners (to allow diagonal crossing).
• Removal of barriers on pedestrian islands.
• Resurfacing of road and pavement.
• Using footway gains.
The computer simulation (modelling pedestrian and traffic flow) communicated the benefits of these proposed changes very successfully.
For a real-life comparison, I’d suggest the insanely busy crossing outside of Shibuya station in Tokyo (check out the video clips below: shaky tourist cam for above view, the delightful Scarlett Johansson for a pedestrian’s perpective). It’s a bit hard to see, but there are four roads with traffic (two a little offset) leading into the crossing.
There is more space for pedestrians to wait around the Shibuya crossing, but then the volume of people is significantly greater. Shibuya station in the background is a suburban commuter hub and underground station as well as shopping/commercial/entertainment district.
Uncluttered scramble crossings, with diagonal pedestrian routes really do work when there is a huge volume of people. They place a priority on the needs of pedestrians.
There are also benefits for drivers. People do not make a dash for that last crossing, which always snarls up traffic turning on Oxford Circus.
The biggest downside is probably the long wait times if you arrive at the end of a crossing cycle. In Shibuya, advertisers exploit this by filling space with giant video walls looping ads (and the occasional cam-from-above shot of the street, just to remind you where you are).
I hope that London’s planners are taking note. Changes like this are achievable, at the cost of temporary disruption, and bring both immediate and long-term benefits to everyone who use the space.
Although exhibits for casual visitors are a little thin on the ground, the model of London and accompanying photographs of new architecture in the city in the hallway provides a good (if slightly cluttered) overview of recent building works.
There’s a small eco-homes section, where companies can display their products. The bookshop’s also well worth a browse for those interested in design, architecture, sustainability or just London itself.
The Building Centre
Store Street WC1E 7BT
Tel. 020 7692 4000
Open: Mon to Fri 9.30 am-6.00 pm; Sat 10.00 am-5.00 pm
One Comment
well i never.
this future needs to be bigger.