Background
The London Borough of Southwark commissioned Project Centre to assess the safety conditions of Bedale Street and Cathedral Street, located adjacent to Borough Market. These streets experience significant pedestrian traffic, particularly during market hours, alongside a relatively low volume of motor vehicles. The Council’s goal was to evaluate existing pedestrian and vehicular movements and recommend solutions to improve safety in the area.
Process
Project Centre conducted a site visit to observe the conditions of the streets between 12:30 and 1:30 pm. During this period, we observed high volumes of pedestrians walking on the carriageway. The footways on both sides of the streets were narrow and often obstructed by street furniture and dockless bikes. Pedestrian tracking surveys showed that foot traffic increased significantly during weekends, with many pedestrians using the carriageway as an informal walking space due to footway congestion.
Additionally, we identified two main pedestrian desire lines, with one route being particularly busy, where pedestrians crossed frequently and vehicles slowed to give way.
The assessment also included a review of the road’s traffic volume through Automatic Traffic Count (ATC) surveys. These revealed a low overall vehicle speed of 12.2mph and a 10.6% Heavy Goods Vehicles presence on weekdays.
Our team reviewed collision data from 2017 to 2020, which recorded two injury collisions, both involving large vehicles and vulnerable road users (a pedestrian and a cyclist), highlighting safety risks in the area.
Outcome
Our safety assessment identified several issues and allowed our expert team to provide key recommendations:
- Narrow footways: The existing footways were insufficient to accommodate high pedestrian volumes, especially during busy times. Pedestrians often walk onto the carriageway, increasing the risk of accidents. Our recommendation: Widen footways and remove street clutter, such as tables, chairs, and A-boards, to improve pedestrian flow and safety.
- Vehicle-pedestrian visibility: Loading and unloading activities restricted visibility between pedestrians and vehicles, increasing the risk of collisions. Our recommendation: Increase restrictions on vehicle loading/unloading during peak pedestrian hours and enforce stricter compliance through officers and business coordination.
- Pedestrian use of the carriageway: High numbers of pedestrians were observed crossing and standing on the road, creating further safety concerns. Our recommendation: Convert the area into a pedestrian zone during busy times or implement traffic calming measures to prioritise pedestrian movement, such as raising the carriageway to footway level.
Project Centre’s proposed measures prioritise pedestrian and cyclist safety while accommodating market operations and vehicular traffic. The Council found our assessment and recommendations reliable, timely and cost-effective.
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