Charing Cross Road, a major carriageway in the West End, is world renowned for its specialist and independent bookshops and antiquarian retailers. In the adjacent St Martin’s and Cecil Court, independent cafés, restaurants, antique, print and art shops can be discovered. Today however, Charing Cross Road has one of central London’s worst air quality records and subsequently has been declared by the Mayor of London as an Air Quality Focus Area.
We propose vast improvements to Charing Cross Road to become a safer, cleaner, more inclusive and more easily accessible street.
The plans outlined in the Placeshaping Strategy included a treelined boulevard with widened footways, more places for pedestrians to cross, an all green phase diagonal crossing, safer routes for cyclists and a new public space between the National Portrait Gallery, which will result in an estimated 20% reduction in collisions. A vital upgrade for the street, which since the opening of the Elizabeth line, will see an additional 170,000 commuters passing through Tottenham Court Road every day.
Charing Cross Road is home to over 150 homes, residents of which are impacted by exposure to poor air quality. Traffic management and improved loading bays reduce bus journey times by up to 16%, and the creation of a tree-lined boulevard all aid to effectively improve the air quality.
