please empty your brain below
Is a "French Piazza" not an oxymoron? Actually I'm not sure if it isn't some other tautological device. Anyway, sorry, I know if you can't say something nice you shouldn't say anything at all but I'm tired and feeling pedantic! :)

Dave | Homepage | 23.03.12 - 7:27 a.m. | #

Very interesting - sometines it seems as if the sign posts and other road furniture are competing to see who can obscure the important side road the best!

Chris over on CBRD also did a review recently, check it out here http://www.cbrd.co.uk/photo/exhibition-road/

Mark | 23.03.12 - 7:56 a.m. | #

Pleased to see something that has worked very successfully in the Netherlands for years brought across here. Proven 'technology'.

Jordan D | 23.03.12 - 9:12 a.m. | #

I was here just the other day and was just as surprised as you, at the changes. I was on one of my occasional pushbike rides up to town, at the time, and it really did take a few moments to adjust to how different it all was.
I know it's off-topic but the thing that most got me was looking at the road with a fresh pair of eyes, and seeing the extent of the shrapnel damage around the side entrance of the V&A [and the inscription explaining why it hadn't been repaired], which showed just how close the building had come to being blown to bits.
It does take some getting used to, but my initial impression was that the change is an improvement.

RogerW | 23.03.12 - 10:15 a.m. | #

I spent four years at Imperial College, a long time ago. Interesting to see how the place has changed. Have to correct you on one point though - although the houses on the east side of the road, at least as far as the V&A building, have "Princes Gate" addresses, the street itself is Exhibition Road all the way up to Kensington Gore - the street sins on the wall of the building on the corner (No 31 Princes Gate, the embassy of the UAE) confirms this (Nos 1 - 30 face Kensington Gore itself)

Possibly one reason why the project didn't get off the ground when RBKC were steering it was because nearly half the road's length is not in that borough! The boundary cuts across the road about half way up, putting the museums in Kensington & Chelsea, and the Albert Hall, the Colleges, and (bizarrely) Kensington Gardens in the City of Westminster

Timbo | 23.03.12 - 10:41 a.m. | #

@Jordan : only in a couple of towns in the north of NL, I believe - not the whole country !

Paul | 23.03.12 - 12:22 p.m. | #

"There is an actual mini roundabout further down . . . which traffic seems more than happy to drive straight across rather than officially round."

Just like any other mini-roundabout in the entire country then...

RG | 23.03.12 - 12:51 p.m. | #

I'm glad you like it... a lot of people whose opinion on street infrastructure I respect have said they hate it. But I turned up there the other day (I think it must have been right after it opened) without having heard about it, not knowing what it was, and I immediately loved it.

Shared spaces does have its limits, and a lot of the theoretical problems behind it (for things like cycle infrastructure particularly) but this genuinely works.

I think part of the reason why it works so well is because it generally levelled down the domination of cars in the area - whereas shared space is sometimes taken to mean "bikes just have to use the road".

Jon | 23.03.12 - 2:20 p.m. | #

WOW!! Having not been there in years I had no idea this was even on the cards, but what an amazing transformation! Can't wait to visit again now, it looks lovely!

CornishCockney | 23.03.12 - 5:52 p.m. | #

While this is all very innovative and the pictures look suitably impressive I do have one rather obvious question. Why didn't they just pedestrianise the street?

whiff | 23.03.12 - 11:43 p.m. | #

Last time I was out that way it hadn't been finished yet but I used a similar street in Bern, Switzerland and whilst it took some getting used to, it turned out to be a very pleasurable experience.

Pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and (oh and don't tell Boris about this one...) bendy trolley buses all intermingled quite happily. True the drivers are the ones that come out of it worse - rather than being kings of the road, drivers are forced to be respectful to others. And it's a lovely thing.

Whilst all the doom-sayers were moaning, saying it wouldn't work, I had a strange feeling it would - as you would when you've seen something similar work in another country for yourself.

So few of the population drive in central London - far more go by foot. It's wonderful to have a balancing that for once is not in favour of the motorist. I'm sure some clueless politician will turn up and stop it all in the future, so let's enjoy it whilst we can!

Andrew Bowden | Homepage | 23.03.12 - 11:49 p.m. | #

I prefer the below the street passage from the station to the museums, especially in the winter.
Last week I went to Onlsow Square, and walking their from the South Kensington station noticed some the the area around the station was also levelled of, plus the statue of Bartok was back in place.

John | 24.03.12 - 7:54 a.m. | #

You seriously prefer walking in the subway to the street? I went to Imperial College years ago, and I always walked along the street in the open air, partly because the subway was jam-packed with dawdling tourists. Even when hemmed-in by traffic barriers, the street was more pleasant. And it looks great now - can't believe it costs £29m just to repave the street though...!

ChrisMitch | 25.03.12 - 12:01 a.m. | #

Yes chrismitch. I worked at Imperial College for a few years back in the 1980's and the subway was much preferred by me to the street. warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer, dry when it was raining,less smell of traffic fumes and occasionally some buskers to entertain you with live music.

John | 29.03.12 - 9:41 a.m. | #











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