Where to put a lift shaft?

• CLLR James Slater provided a welcome “critique” for the Kentish Town area about the apparent laissez-faire attitude by the various industries working on Kentish Town High Street, to the detriment of the community for a considerable period of time, (Bridge works nightmare, Letters, December 28).

Why no alternative to the Kentish Town Underground station closure? Transport for London evidently began years ago to wrack their brains on how to renew the aging pair of escalators at that station. After four years, we can see how limited this brainwork was.

How about a lift shaft outside the footprint of the existing station building, adjacent to it? This was clearly not thought of! Why not?

A lift constructed next to the existing station building would be welcomed by people with a disability, pushchair, or wheelchair-users. Totally step-free and financed free.

This surely is a function of transport design? Where to put it? Next to the Underground station building (pictured above) there is a narrow slither of land being used as a sunken garden, about eight metres wide and about 30 or 40 metres long.

A good-sized plot, only a tiny bit of it would be used for constructing a lift, or a set of lifts, while the rest could be of “real estate” use.

If there is one lift it would operate as a two-stop lift as the two platforms are at differing levels to each other. If there are two lifts or more, single-stop operation would be efficient for each lift.

HERMAN TRIBELNIG
Camden Town Urban Design
Improvement Society
PO Box 10850, NW1