Piccadilly / Pall Mall - Two-way at last?

Westminster City Council has announced a radical £14m overhaul of Piccadilly Circus.

The one-way system and oppressive guard railings which pen pedestrians in were introduced in 1963, and have made crossing the famous site a nightmare ever since. They have also made cycling through the area more difficult and potentially dangerous.

In an effort to replicate the success of the nearby Oxford Circus diagonal crossing more space will be devoted to pedestrians, allowing the listed Eros statute to become a focal point along with the famous neon signs in the background. More than one kilometre of guard railings - "enough to build 800 bicycles" - will be ripped out creating more room for pedestrians.

As part of the improvements a central island will be built along Piccadilly and Pall Mall - giving shoppers more opportunities to cross. The pelican crossing in Pall Mall by St James’s Square will be replaced with a zebra crossing.

The council believes that re-introducing two- way streets from Piccadilly Circus along Piccadilly, St James's Street and Pall Mall should free up Piccadilly Circus and reduce the traffic passing through the St James’s area. It hopes the benefits of the new scheme through reduced congestion on both the roads and pavements will reap similar rewards for the area in the same way as Oxford Circus.

The revamp will also open up the important gateway to St James's Park and Horse Guards Parade during the 2012 Olympics - the venue for beach volleyball during the games; and Pall Mall - the finishing line for several events, including the marathon, triathlon and road cycling - will also be improved.

Engineering consultancy Atkins, which designed the famous Oxford Circus diagonals, has been commissioned to work on the new Piccadilly designs.

The council is currently waiting to hear whether Transport for London will fund £7m of the revamp as part of its Major Schemes project, and it is expected to make a final decision within the next few weeks.  If Westminster's bid to TfL is successful, the remaining £7m will be jointly funded by the City Council and The Crown Estate, with additional funding from Fortnum and Mason, who are support the scheme along with the St James’s Conservation Area Trust.

Colin Wing, chairman of Westminster Cycling Campaign, said: "We have been campaigning for many years to turn these streets back to two-way. Not only are fast, wide, one-way streets an obstacle to cycling through the West End but we also need southbound cycling in St James's Street as part of the Regent's Park - St James's Park cycle route. I therefore hope that TfL will provide their share of the funding to allow the scheme to go ahead. I also hope they will get the traffic signs right this time!"