Pedestrian improvements to the junction of Borough High Street and St Thomas Street at London Bridge

Overview

Update 7 October 2016

Following consultation we decided to proceed with modernising this junction with new traffic signals and increasing pedestrian capacity by widening the crossings on all four arms and introducing a new diagonal crossing with an all-round green pedestrian phase. As the proposals were very well supported and people said they wanted the junction improved as quickly as possible, which made it safer, the changes were introduced earlier this year, minimising disruption by completing it before the scheduled closure of Tooley Street for two years.

Please click here to read our Report (PDF)

End of update.

Transport for London (TfL) is proposing improvements to the junction for pedestrians to make it a safer and better environment for the local community, visitors to the area and commuters using the nearby Underground and Rail stations.

The local area has been under considerable recent development with the new increased capacity bus station, Borough Market improvements, Thameslink, The Shard, and the works currently in progress at London Bridge Station. Further improvements are also planned in the area over the next few years and as a result there will be more people crossing Borough High Street at the junction with St Thomas Street.

The junction is on the main A3 arterial route into the City and is heavily trafficked making it difficult for people to cross.

The existing junction operates in three stages with people having to cross in gaps in traffic as there are no formal crossing points at the junction.

No changes are proposed to traffic restrictions at the junction so St Thomas Street would remain left-turn only, the right-turn into Bedale Street from Borough High Street would remain banned, and Bedale Street would remain one-way entry only.

Some alterations are proposed for the loading bays outside 31-41 and 6-8 Borough High Street but there are no changes proposed to parking and loading restrictions.

TfL is also working with Network Rail on improvements to Tooley Street and St Thomas Street and these will be consulted on in the near future.

What we are proposing and why

• New all-round pedestrian green phase to make it safer for pedestrians including a diagonal crossing between Borough Market and Underground station to link the two and a crossing on the southern arm where no facility currently exists
• All crossings widened to improve the pedestrian capacity of the junction
• Signals modernised to improve general traffic flow and reduce delays
• Footways repaved in York stone to match recent improvements on Borough High Street and St Thomas Street
• Drainage upgraded to prevent puddles
• Carriageway resurfaced
• Southbound loading bay outside 31-41 Borough High Street moved slightly further east away from the crossing to accommodate the widened crossings
• The loading bay outside 6-8 Borough High Street raised to footway level and paved in granite to match the footway
• Bedale Street to remain one-way
• St Thomas Street to remain left-turn exit only.
   

Click here for a drawing of the location and proposals. We propose to start work in Summer 2015 for completion as soon as possible.