News and articles on the infrastructure of Marylebone including, street furniture (signs, barriers etc), street lighting, pavements and other publicly maintained areas
STREET LIGHTING
We have been informed by Westminster City Council that it is now finally the policy in our area that where there are any replacements to existing street lighting it will be with the ‘Grey Wornum' style lantern. This is the type where the lamp is directly on top of the post rather than coming out over the road on an arm and is definitely more complementary to the area than the latter. This consistency of approach has been pursued by the Association for many years and should be seen as a notable step forward. However up until recently we still saw lights of an entirely different style being put up in Beaumont Street. Once again we would be grateful for your assistance in keeping a watchful eye out for such inconsistencies. Unfortunately budgetary constraints now mean that very few lamps are likely to be replaced unless they are perceived to be a safety risk. The only new lamps scheduled for this year in our area, as far as we are aware, are in Hampden Gurney Street.
STREET CLUTTER
Over the last year this has become an increasingly prominent issue and includes the unnecessary placement of guardrails, the proliferation of street signs, redundant lampposts and other street furniture, unnecessary placing of bollards and bins, and poor or damaged paving surfaces.
Both the large Estates covering our area have recently turned their attention to clearing unsightly street clutter. The Howard de Walden Neater Streets Initiative is progressing well with the initial survey of the areas west of Harley Street now completed. A similar initiative recently carried out by the Portman Estate resulted in a high success rate in obtaining the removal of these excrescencies and we look forward to a similar conclusion.
Civic Voice, the new umbrella organisation for civic societies, have launched a nationwide initiative to deal with clutter called Street Pride. This is to be implemented by way of street audit, identifying any elements of clutter, such as the examples given above. If anyone is interested in carrying out an audit of the streets near where they live please contact me and I will organise the necessary forms and ensure that there is no unnecessary duplication of effort.
There is finally an initiative that was announced last year by Westminster Council to clear signage clutter, a matter that Westminster admits ‘has been neglected in the past'. Although this is to be initially aimed at the larger thoroughfares such as Baker Street and Edgware Road it should eventually extend to all streets and be completed in 2012. It will not only deal with redundant signs but attend to related matters such as reducing sizes of signs, un-illuminated where possible and combining signs. That anyway is the stated aim and it will be interesting to see how this progresses.
The Association has arranged for a ‘Walk About' with officers from Highways at Westminster City Council to take place in July to identify similar long standing problems with redundant or unnecessary street furniture and areas of damaged pavement. So if your street has such issues please let us know and we will try and get it included on the itinerary. With regard to large areas of pavement that need replacing because of their overall poor condition or because the surface is unsuitable within the Marylebone streetscape, e.g. asphalt or concrete, this process could result in areas of poor paving being included in the Annual Condition Survey which is the first and necessary step in achieving large scale footway improvements. Please let us know of any long standing issues that you are aware of anywhere in the Marylebone Area and we will pass them on to Westminster Council.
Finally, the most notable improvement for pedestrians this year has been the implementation of the new Oxford Circus crossing which by removing the pedestrian guard rails and introducing diagonal crossing has resulted in greatly improved pedestrian flow as well as an aesthetic improvement.
Michael Bolt
