A war of words has broken out over the "shared space" design of London's Exhibition Road, with local politicians at loggerheads over whether the layout has improved or worsened accident rates in the popular museum district.
Emma Dent Coad, the MP for Kensington and Chelsea, claims injuries to pedestrians have leapt sevenfold since the street was redesigned by architecture firm Dixon Jones in 2011, which involved removing the separation between cars and pedestrians.
But councillor Gerald Hargreaves says the street is a "huge improvement" on the layout in previous decades, and has helped to reduce accidents.
MP calls for major review of safety on Exhibition Road
The row broke out following a car crash earlier this month, which injured 11 people. As a result, Dent Coad is petitioning to have the area completely pedestrianised. "In 2011, before the redesign, there was one pedestrian casualty on Exhibition Road," she said, citing the CrashMap website. "In 2016, there were seven."
The MP, who is also an architectural historian, is now calling for a major review of safety on the road, which connects the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the V&A.
"My personal preference is to have the road fully pedestrianised," she told Dezeen. "I have never liked the current design and think it is out of place in Albertopolis ? it is not the Ramblas of Barcelona, as it was intended to be."
Councillor says acciden...