‘Add 20 minutes to your journey time' warning as two-way Baker Street works start
Lane closures and disruption for six months while works take place
Friday, 5th January 2018 — By Tom Foot
The vision for two-day Baker Street
DRIVERS through Baker Street have been told to add at least 20 minutes to their journey times for the next six months.
The council and Transport for London are making the famous street two-way and from this weekend a new phase of building work is beginning.
Six months of works are planned for the stretch of Marylebone Road between Baker Street and Balcombe Street.
The Park Road / Gloucester Place, Baker Street / Crawford Street junctions, and the southern section of Portman Square will also be severely affected.
One-lane closures will be in place along Marylebone Road and locally in Park Road and Baker Street.
Highways chief Cllr Danny Chalkley said: “Although the works inevitably cause disruption, the project team are working hard to deliver this transformation as smoothly as possible. Soon pedestrians, cyclists and motorists will all benefit from safer and more welcoming streets.”
The move to make Baker Street two-way was heavily criticised when it was launched in 2015 with residents’ associations warning that it would push traffic into the quieter streets, clogging other routes, and worsening pollution in residential areas.
Steven Dollond stood as an independent in the 2016 council elections on a “no to two-way” ticket.
He described it at the time as “the most contentious issue to affect Baker Street in half a century” and warned that it was “an unjustifiable waste of taxpayers’ money”.
Shops and businesses will be open as usual and cyclists will still be able to travel along Baker Street and Gloucester Place.
Penny Alexander, the chief executive of the “Baker Street Quarter Partnership”, said: “At this project milestone we are mindful that the works, while well managed, will unavoidably cause some disruption in the short- term.”
Westminster Council said that work had already finished on a number of junctions on Gloucester Place and surrounding streets.
The new Baker Street is expected to open in early 2019.
