Tell TFL you care about them shelving transformative 2016 plans for Kings Cross

A petition has been started to request that TFL and the Mayor of London keep alive extensive 2016-plans that would have transformed the Kings Cross gyratory into a safer, healthier and better environment. Most Kings Cross residents approved the plans in a consultation in 2016. We wanted it all, and we still want it! (Click here to support the vision)

One of the impressions of the transformation published in 2016

The plans were crafted after several people had died on our roads and much lobbying by Boris Johnson when he was still London Mayor.

Sadiq Khan has promised to upkeep the plans, subject to funding, but no funding to support the vision has been available five years on. Now TFL wants to change a few junctions only. In 2020 TFL quietly shelved the transformative vision for Kings Cross.

The fatalities that are not that long ago seems to be forgotten, bit only in November 2021, this year, a serious collision between a bus and cyclist reminded all what is at stake, when safety investments over a plan that already went through planning and consultation stages, based on the recognition and study of all identified shortcomings of the Kings Cross roads are withheld. Alongside the fact that Kings Cross roads were and still are amongst the more polluting streets of London, at one stage amongst the highest in London and by implication in teh UK and Europe. Money was spent already over these plans. By shelving them, TFL is in fact admitting that they have been wasting public money.

Those who called for and drafted the 2016 vision were however right. Millions cross through Kings Cross whilst people also live here, many have families with children, some are elderly. Some cross major roads just to go grocery shopping or to school. The Kings Cross gyratory may also be the first bit of London people travelling to London from the North of Europe will experience. It is where the best British traffic and road management should be showcased rather than a solution crafted out of shoestrings.

Acton Street would have seen an extra cycle lane and general calming, whilst other streets would have become slow-moving two-way streets, overhauling all crossings and junctions.

Even if money is in short supply, Kings Cross deserves a full holistic vision that addresses the shortcomings of the one-way gyratory system once and for all.

You can show you care but adding your name to this petition. Click here:

https://www.change.org/p/sadiq-khan-keep-the-vision-to-transform-london-kings-cross-gyratory?recruiter=44309588&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_petition&recruited_by_id=30f7a250-70a4-0130-76ad-3c764e04b838&utm_content=fht-31566388-en-gb%3A0

UPDATE – tube noise on Acton Street

Hi all,

The engineer deployed to investigate the tube noise situation has completed his report, which acknowledges an issue with rail joints, see an extract below:

“Eastbound services presented with a light impulsive character while westbound services presented as a heavy impulsive noise which could be heard echoing around the trench.
On the westbound road the trackform is flat-bottom rail on concrete sleepers. There is a train stop at M122/MIRLO 1,112m, there are insulated rail joints (IRJ) on the left hand rail at M122/MIRLO 1,120 and 1,124m. There is a widening of the contact patch on the following rail of both IRJs.
On the eastbound road the trackform is flat-bottom rail on concrete sleepers. There are no track features or rail head defects in the noise source area. The lack of rail head defects indicates that the impulsive character from the eastbound roads is the result of multiple short plain line events as each bogie passes thought the open air section.“

On the basis of this report, TFL followed-up saying:

“Most of your noise is caused by a couple of joints on the Hammersmith and City line rails. The joints are connected to the signalling system, so regretfully they can’t be completely removed, but we’ve asked the Track Manager to inspect them to see if anything can be done to improve their condition. I’m afraid this might take some time, as safety-critical track repair work always has to take priority over noise-reducing work, but as soon as I learn whether their condition can indeed be improved, I’ll let you know.

My understanding is that the signalling system is due to be upgraded within the next couple of years. Once that happens, the joints can be taken out, as they’ll no longer be required. However, I acknowledge that this is a lengthy period of time to wait, so hopefully the condition of the joints can be improved in the meantime as an interim measure.”

Whilst it’s good that they acknowledge the issue and contemplate remediation, if the remediation is only coming in the next couple of years this isn’t going to be acceptable. To compel TFL to act quickly and find a quick temporary solution to the issue, we should maintain pressure and complain via  https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/contact-us-about-tube-and-rail, or by calling TFL on 0343 222 1234.

See this excerpt from a June 2019 TFL formal response to another noise complaint correspondence with the City of London: “Can TfL confirm the approach taken to prioritising which sections of the track should benefit works when complaints are made?
We prioritise based on in-property noise level and the number of complaints (of an appropriate noise level). We introduced this process and decision making to ensure a fair and consistent method of prioritising where best to direct our resources.”

A complaint will trigger a follow-up by TFL by email asking the following questions, to which I propose a template answer:

Full Address and postcode:
Do you live in a flat or a house?
If in a flat, on which floor?
When are you most commonly in the property?
When did you first notice the noise and/or vibration? Since at least November 2019
Did the noise increase suddenly, or was it gradual? Sudden
Is the noise a rumble, a clanking or a screech? Clanking – heavy impulsive noise every ~2mn from 5:30 am to 1 am every day when a westbound Hammersmith & City/Circle/Metropolitan tube runs over what sounds like a faulty rail joint around the C20 bridge

Thanks for your support

Adrien

Tube noise on Acton Street

Dear neighbours,

As you have probably noticed, the noise coming from the exposed tube tracks on both sides of Acton Street has materially worsened in recent months. Every time a Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan tube carriage heads northbound (doesn’t affect southbound tracks) from Farringdon to King’s Cross St Pancras, that is about every 2 minutes, seven days a week from 5:30 am to about 12:30am, we hear a loud and echoing “clickety-clack” noise that lasts a good 5 seconds which seems to come from the tracks just before or underneath the C20 bridge (Acton Street). This noise is new, loud, abnormal, and way above and beyond any other tube noise that we’ve experienced to date in the area. TFL has sent an engineer to make sound measurement in the area on January 28th (Graham Jump) and acknowledged there is indeed an issue to be sorted. His report is pending, but he alluded that the remediation could take anything from a few months to a couple of years (!) depending on how TFL chooses to prioritize the issue. The noise may not be audible indoors from the windows overlooking Acton Street when good double-glazed windows are closed, but bear in mind the summer months when they may be open, in particular overnight – to be woken up at 5:30am including on weekends is not a particularly pleasant experience…

Please join me and complain to TFL so that they prioritize getting the tracks in the area fixed as soon as possible by filling a complaint form at the following web address: https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/contact-us-about-tube-and-rail, or by calling TFL on 0343 222 1234. The case officer is Derek Wilson.

It did not used to be that way, this degradation is caused by overdue maintenance and this noise is detrimental to the well-being and sleep of the residents, and potentially of properties value. Many thanks in advance, the more complaints TFL receive, the more they will be compelled to act quickly!