Two Way Traffic on Baker Street

We Londoners are obsessed with traffic, and with good reason – we live in the seventh worst city across the globe for traffic jams and, on average, spend 73 hours-a-year waiting in queues during rush hour – but here’s a good news story for you! As part of Westminster City Council and Transport for London’s Baker Street Two Way project, this weekend sees the reintroduction of two-way traffic flow along Baker Street and Gloucester Place.

While it might bring short-term pain as the new road layouts are implemented, the long-term outlook is bright for both motorists and pedestrians alike; the project’s aim is to rebalance road space and traffic signal time to provide greater benefit to pedestrians and cyclists, while maintaining appropriate traffic capacity and discouraging high speeds.

Mark Pollack, Director of Aston Chase, comments:

“The new two-way system will help to diffuse the sense of having to take your life in your hands when attempting to cross either Baker Street or Marylebone Road, and as a consequence will hopefully help to make Marylebone feel more inclusive and village-like. It remains to be seen whether or not it will also create more traffic congestion and/or result in a safer and more user-friendly experience for cyclists.”

If you live or work in Marylebone, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the problems that currently exist: wide carriageways resemble urban motorways, encouraging high traffic speeds during quieter periods of the day, and the one-way system leads to serious congestion at peak periods. The work, along with other planned improvements will help to create pleasant streets where people can get about easily and safely, and where they want to relax and spend time. In short, to restore Marylebone’s unique character.

Plan your route here to avoid this weekend’s works.

See here for more information about the project