Street design
Award winning architects Dixon Jones have developed a
distinctive chequered granite street design that features a single
surface running from South Kensington Station to Hyde Park and the
full width of the road from building to building.
The busiest section of Exhibition Road for pedestrians is
between South Kensington and Prince Consort Road. This is where
most visitors walk to the museums. In this part of the road there
is a four metre wide corridor from the buildings on the western
side which is a safe area for pedestrians, next to this there is an
eight metre ‘transition zone’ where there are parking bays, cycle
racks and other items of street furniture, this is followed by two
lanes for traffic, one each way, then a four metre pedestrian zone
on the eastern side of the road.
The section of the road to the north of Prince Consort Road has
a different layout that incorporates four lanes for traffic.
See this diagrammatically
We have removed kerbs, barriers and street clutter so
pedestrians can move around the area more freely, particularly
those using wheelchairs, motorised buggies and pushchairs.
Black cast iron drainage channel covers run along each side
of Exhibition Road, about four metres out from the respective
building lines. Alongside the drainage channels strips of
corduroy tactile warn blind and partially sighted people that they
are moving into or out of vehicle free areas.
Tall, sleek street lighting masts have been specifically
designed to complement the grand buildings of Exhibition Road and
provide a safe and welcoming nocturnal environment for residents
and visitors.