Ashford leads the way
Comments |
by James
Scott
jscott@thekmgroup.co.uk
Ashford’s shared space is proving to be a pioneering piece of
architecture, with London opening its own £30 million
equivalent.
The 820-metre Exhibition Road (pictured right), which is
bordered by the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, was
officially opened in Kensington last week.
The new scheme, which, like Ashford’s, has a 20mph speed limit
and gives pedestrians more priority, had £14.6 million of council
funding and £13.4 million from the Mayor of London, Boris
Johnson.
Ashford’s shared space architect Ben
Hamilton-Baillie, who offered some initial advice at the start of
the London scheme, said Ashford’s (pictured left), which cost £16.5
million and opened in 2008, was still the most extensive in the
UK.
He said: “The scheme in Ashford was certainly ground-breaking in
the development of low-speed street design in the UK, and is
certainly the largest and most extensive scheme of its kind to
date.
“No other town had, until Ashford, attempted to tackle the
divisive nature of a busy ring road in the way it has. At nearly
one kilometre in length, combined with the returning to two-way on
the whole ring, it is certainly the largest such scheme.”
Full story in the Kentish Express out today.
Thursday, February 09 2012
The KM Group does not moderate comments.
Please click here for our house rules.