TfL to shut out traffic in the heart of the city during £642 million upgrade project
By Julia Gregory, local democracy reporter
The busy Bank Junction could be shut to traffic in the heart of the City when the improved Bank railway station reopens next year.
The City of London has unveiled its plans for pedestrian-only routes and is launching a six-week consultation to hear from office workers and motorists.
Transport for London has been upgrading Bank and the connected Monument Tube stations to increase capacity at London’s third busiest stations – in a major project costing over £642m.
Work is due to be finished in 2022 and aims to increase capacity because of the opening of the Crossrail Elizabeth line, including stops at Farrington and Liverpool Street.
Each day 542,000 workers pour into the City, according to the latest pre-pandemic figures.
And 298,000 passengers used Bank in 2010 – up from 223,462 in 2004.
The City of London Corporation wants to hear from people about its plans to improve the busy junction, which is also an important road crossing near the iconic Bank of England, Mansion House and Royal Exchange.
The proposed All Change at Bank improvements include:
- Closing Threadneedle Street to motor vehicles between Bank Junction and Bartholomew Lane to create a walking and cycling only area.
- Shutting Queen Victoria Street between Bucklersbury and Bank Junction for motor vehicles, except those leaving Walbrook in a westbound direction.
- Keeping Princes Street open for only buses and cycles northbound, and to service Cornhill in a southbound direction.
- Widening pavements to provide more space for the large numbers of people who use the station.
The Cannon Street entrance has a new look and most of the tunneling work was finished in October.
It’s seen more than 1.3km of tunnels built over the last four years as part of the ambitious plan to expand the busy station’s capacity by 40 per cent.
A new southbound tunnel was built for the Northern line. The existing tunnel is being converted into a passenger concourse and there will be six new cross passages linking the platforms on either side.
Passengers will also spot three new escalator tunnels which were excavated out to link the Northern line to the DLR.
And thousands of them will use the new entrance on Cannon Street and walk down a new link tunnel connecting the Northern and Central lines.
Alastair Moss, who chairs the Corporation’s planning and transportation committee said: “Bank Junction has already undergone transformative change, from a busy and dangerous intersection to a safer and more pleasant environment for all.”
“By making subtle changes to just a few of the arms of the junction, we will ensure the streets are even safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as being able to provide welcome improvements to the public realm in this busy part of the City.”
In 2018 taxi drivers staged a protest after the Corporation banned taxis, cars, vans and lorries from Bank Junction between 7amto 7pm on weekdays in a bid to improve safety.
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Just another Road closure forcing people onto Public transport so tfl can expand their monopoly onto the public in a larger area in an out of date precovid business plan. Now it is clear that tfl is just a poorly run business that should have gone from covid for only our tax money from the goverment to prop them up again..Businesses are leaving London as the laptop takes over so less people will be need to be there(look at all the suit and other city shops shutting).So who wants to walk for a mile in the rain for at least 6 months a year? A: No one.
So give business a chance give them back their roads and parking back with air pollution is no longer an excuse with increasing number electric cars.
Who wanted TFL to run things anyway?
TfL are a dangerous commodity it trying to force people on to public transport walk or cycle it’s taking peoples liberty and choice away how will workman who maitain these old buildings lifts etc why should one inefficient organisation dictate to everybody,they ignore high court judgements and keep appealing yet they profess to have no money the government have had to bail them out a couple of time, I do wonder is TfLand Khan above the law it seems very corrupt to me.