It is with deeply mixed feelings that I realised a few days ago there will be a new docking station for Boris bikes north of King’s Cross. It will be on Crinan Street right next to King’s Place, where the Guardian resides. It looks like it will be opened soon.
On the one hand side, it’s really good to see the expansion of the cycle hire scheme in the King’s Cross area. The network of docking stations is particularly patchy in this part of the city. Although I’m only a very casual user of the scheme (I prefer to use my own bike) it’s very convenient to have a docking station right next to my office on Crinan Street.
On the other hand, the new docking station really gives me shivers. If you want to use it, you have to ride your bike on one of the most notorious and cycling unfriendly areas of central London – the infamous King’s Cross gyratory.
If you happen to be south of Euston Street, you are forced to cross the junction where Deep Lee, a 24 year old arts student, was crushed by a lorry when she cycled to college on 3 October 2011. Since 2006, three other cyclists were killed by lorries in the area. Pedestrian and cycling campaigners have been fighting for years for a more human friendly redesign of the area but Transport for London did not bother to take action. They were more concerned about smoothing the traffic flow than improving the safety of cyclists. In December, the Camden New Journal reported about a special town hall meeting in Camden:
A TfL representative insisted that introducing a cycle lane at the junction would “cause considerable queues”, stressing that there was “limited time” to conduct a review of the proposed changes for the junction because of a “commitment” to make them in time for the Olympic Games.
Some improvement works at the dreadful junction are about to begin, but James Thomas, an architect and cyclist working on York Way who had a close look at TfL’s plan, says the changes fall short of any real improvement. James, who built the memorial bike for Deep Lee, concludes that the plans bring
no improvements in safety for cyclists
The new docking station north on York Way will lure Boris bikers to an area that is loathed even by very experienced cyclists. Many of them are tourists or otherwise inexperienced cyclists who are not familiar with the bewildering system of one-way streets around King’s Cross and are not aware of the build in dangers for cyclist on the roads around King’s Cross. To quote an infamous sentence by Boris Johnson, they will find is amazingly difficult “to have their wits about them”.
There are no bike facilities on York Way whatsoever and cycling there is absolutely counter intuitive. Between Euston Road and Wharfdale Road, the left lane is used as a bus stop. Northbound cyclists who keep left happen to be squeezed in the middle of the traffic: busses on their left, fast moving cars and lorries on their right.
I cycled there quite often and came to the conclusion that the “safest” way to ride there is if you position yourself on the road like a cyclist in Europe would do: I keep on the outer right lane next to the curb.
However, if you want to carry on north behind Wharfdale Road, you have to cross two lanes of car traffic because York Way ceases to be a one-way street there. To get to the docking station on Crinan Street, you have to cross York Way with its four lanes of fast moving, aggressive drivers. (The better way to get to the docking station is a right turn onto Wharfdale Road and then a left into Crinan Street, but tourists and people not familiar with the area won’t know.)
I consider myself an experienced cyclist who tends not be scared easily but I always feel extremely queasy when I cycle on York Way. I usually use Pancras Way as an alternative to York Way . However, this tiny street between King’s Cross Station and St. Pancras Station currently quite often comes closer to a car park for cabs than a street. In peak hours, it is almost impossible to cycle there at all. On top of that, Goods Way north of St. Pancras currently is a one way street in eastern direction and you have to cycle illegally on the curb if you want to get to King’s Place.
Leaving the docking station on Crinan Street by bike is a similar nightmare since you can’t use the York Way south of Wharfdale Road. Imagine you cycled to the docking station on Crinan Street and find out it is full. If you’re not aware of Pancras Street, cycling back to the docking stations south of King’s Cross resembles a very personal “Tour du Danger”.
All in all, the docking station on Crinan Street makes the case for segregated cycle lanes in the area even more compelling. Anything else would just be irresponsible and a gamble with human life.
Cycling Intelligence 
I cycle up there half-a-dozen times a year to go to the NCVO offices nearby. It has always been bad to be on two wheels around Kings X but the last year or so it has got much, much worse. Not only do you have to have your wits about you, you must be prepared to be scared out of them by the sheer panic-fuelled aggression of the drivers there, many of whom, mostly through no fault of their own, have not a clue where to go or which lane to take.
You also need a photographic memory or a GPS to copy with the maze of one-way streets. A Boris bike docking station is, I fear, a very mixed blessing.
Drop me a line before you’ll go there next time and let’s have a coffee. I work on Crinan Street.
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One detail which would make Euston Road-Pentonville Road safer would be to close off the left turn in to York Way to all traffic except buses turning in to use the bus stands (not all bus stops) on York Way. this would eliminate the dangerous cutting up moves by traffic turning left, and if thought through properly would simplify the traffic signals sequence, and the junction as the pedestrian sequence to cross York Way could run with all the traffic going straight through to Pentonville Road. The relatively small number of vehicles turning left would then have to go round via Grays Inn Road and the route from Grays Inn Road in to York Way could be have the ‘squeeze’ from 2 lanes into 1.5 lanes opened to be 2 lanes of consistent width with a cycle lane right through the junction. If the bus left turn can be eliminated as well so much the better – but it may be operationally better to provide for buses making this turn through an exclusive lane from the bus stops at the front of the station.
Note that Kings Cross Boulevard is now open and you can cycle up this to Goodsway – and eventually out from the top of the site to connect with Maiden Lane by the canal. I know how bad York Way can be. I spotted a truck coming up to pass me too close and rather than let the wing mirror clip my head I whacked it clear by raising my arm – that was clearly far too close to pass, and words were exchanged.
The other detail long campaigned for will be to have a Northbound cycle lane on Midland Road, an a right turn for cycles from Judd Street
Dave, thanks for your commment.
I think every single measure that slows down motorised traffic around King’s X means progress, preventing a left turn in to York Way being one of the options. (A complete re-design of York Way with a segregated cycle lane in both directions would be the preferred option, as far as I’m concerned…)
I’m aware of King’s Cross Boulevard and love it. However, unfortunately, you still have to get there (via congested Pancras Road). A northbound cycle lane on Midland Road would be terriffic. However, my dream would be to close Pancras Road either entirely or at least in one direction for motorised traffic and turn it into shared space or build a segregated cycle lane there.
Cheers
Olaf
TfL really need to sort out London’s roads and making them safer for everyone. Ideally they should be installing dedicated cycle paths.
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