§ Mr. G. Johnson Smithasked the Minister of Transport whether he is now able to announce plans for one-way traffic working in the Tottenham Court Road-Gower Street area.
§ Mr. MarplesYes. I propose to introduce an experimental scheme of one-way traffic working in this area starting on 1st May, 1961. Consultations have taken place between my Department and the Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Borough Councils of Holborn, St. Marylebone and St. Pancras and the Metropolitan Police. I have now put the scheme to them formally. Discussions have also taken place with the London Transport Executive who expect to convert before 1st May their trolley bus services on the routes affected. I take this opportunity of thanking these bodies for their co-operation.
I have placed in the Library copies of a plan showing the new routeing along the roads concerned. Briefly, there will be a one-way route northbound between Cambridge Circus and the junction of Hampstead Road and Gower Street via Charing Cross Road, Tottenham Court Road and Hampstead Road. Southbound traffic will use Gower Street, Bloomsbury
50Wnumber of accidents which have taken place on the A.20 between the Bull Hotel, Birchwood and Farningham Hill in each of the last five years, together with the numbers of killed and injured.
§ Mr. MarplesI regret that the information asked for is available only for the last three years. In the last 12 months there have been 53 accidents, in which four people were killed, 24 seriously injured and 47 slightly injured. The following are the figures for the two previous years:
Street and Shaftesbury Avenue or Monmouth Street. There will be consequential adjustments of routeing in the neighbourhood of Princes Circus, Cambridge Circus and St. Giles' Circus. There will also be a new system of one-way streets between the two main north-south routes.