Old Street Roundabout

Looking down on Old Street Roundabout, 2012

Old Street Roundabout is a roundabout located on the boundary of the London Borough of Hackney and the London Borough of Islington. It is an interchange system at the junction of Old Street and City Road. It is sometimes known as St. Agnes Well after the shopping centre beneath it, while the area surrounding the roundabout is often colloquially known as Silicon Roundabout, owing to the prominence of British web-based companies there.

Connections

View from the south-east side of Old Street Roundabout looking north-west

An urban sculpture and advertising hoarding in the centre of Old Street Roundabout, pictured from the south side looking north.

City Road crosses the roundabout, running south towards the City of London and Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations, and north-west towards Angel, King's Cross, St. Pancras and Euston. The roundabout, the north-western part of City Road, and Great Eastern Street form the boundary of the London congestion charge zone (CCZ).

To the west of Old Street are Clerkenwell, Bloomsbury, and the West End. To the east are Shoreditch and London's East End.

St. Agnes Well

The shopping complex in the underpass at the centre of the roundabout is named St. Agnes Well, after an ancient well thought to have been located about 200 metres to the east, at the junction of Old Street and Great Eastern Street.^[1]

Old Street station

Old Street station ticket hall.

Old Street station is located below Old Street Roundabout. It is served by the Bank branch of the London Underground Northern line and by National Rail Great Northern trains. With the increase in passenger numbers using the station, in 2014 Transport for London announced that it was to offer pop-up retail space at Old Street station as part of a drive to increase its revenue.^[2]

Silicon Roundabout

The term Silicon Roundabout refers to the high number of web businesses located near the Old Street Roundabout (also in East London), and is a reference to Silicon Valley in California.^[3][4][5]

Cycling accidents

Old Street roundabout has become somewhat notorious for cycling accidents. According to the London Cycling Campaign, the junction is among the top three in London for accidents involving cyclists.^[6] Within a few days in February 2011 two cyclists were severely injured in collisions involving lorries on or very close to the roundabout.^[7][8] In another collision involving a lorry in 2008 a cyclist suffered severe leg injuries, which the police described as "potentially life-changing".^[9] In response to this Transport for London have proposed a massive transformation of the roundabout, into a pedestrian square with segregated cycle lanes and road signals.^[10]

References

1. London's Holy Wells
2. https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2014/april/pop-up-shops-arrive-at-old-street-tube-station-to-reflect-the-vibrancy-of-tech-city
3. Bradshaw, Tim (29 July 2008). "silicon-roundabout-is-this-the-heart-of-the-uks-new-dotcom-boom". Financial Times blog. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
4. "Silicon Roundabout". The Economist. 27 November 2010. pp. 63–64.
5. Prigg, Mark (30 July 2008). "Roundabout is London's Answer to Silicon Valley". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
6. Coleman, Jasmine (04.03.2011). "Safety concerns for cyclists on Old Street roundabout following crash". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 2011-03-25. Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. Coleman, Jasmine (2011-02-24). "Old Street crash: woman cyclist critically ill". Hackney Gazette. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
8. Marshall, Tom (2011-02-16). "Cyclist injured in City Road crash". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
9. "Old Street roundabout accident: "Life-changing injury"". Retrieved 2011-03-25.
10. "Revealed: Radical plan to transform Old Street roundabout into pedestrianised square". Retrieved 2015-02-24.

Coordinates: 51°31′33″N 0°05′15″W / 51.5257°N 0.0875°W