§ Mr. Goodhewasked the Minister of Transport, in view of the fact that the proposed one-way system in London will 20W increase the traffic capacity of most of the major road junctions by nearly 20 per cent., what consideration he has now given to the advantages, with the system in operation, of the proposed £836,000 London County Council road improvement scheme at St. Giles Circus; and, in particular, to what use the new section of road to be provided between New Oxford Street and St. Giles High Street will be put.
§ Mr. MarplesThe St. Giles Circus improvement is part of a permanent improvement of this north-south route into the centre of London, which will include the Euston Road Underpass and the widening of Tottenham Court Road. The route improvement as a whole will not however be in use for some years.
The one-way system in Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street is planned to give immediate relief. The St. Giles Circus will remain a critical point and the improvement in capacity there provided by the L.C.C. scheme will be welcome.
With regard to the last part of the Question, this section of road is likely to be used by local traffic under the one-way system in its present form. The scheme is, however, experimental and there can be no certainty that it will represent the permanent traffic pattern. In particular if it should prove necessary to permit two-way traffic along New Oxford Street, in order to avoid overloading Princes Circus, the full gyratory system at St. Giles Circus would become essential.