Editing Elephant and Castle (section)

=== Road ===
Elephant and Castle is a busy road junction. The [[London Inner Ring Road]] passes through the junction. The [[A3 road|A3]] also passes through the junction, which carries traffic between the city and destinations such as Kennington, Clapham, [[Gatwick Airport]] ({{Rint|air}}), and [[Portsmouth]].

[[Air pollution]] from road traffic in Elephant and Castle has significantly improved in recent years. In 2015, Elephant and Castle exceeded the UK government legal limit on [[Nitrogen dioxide|Nitrogen Dioxide]], with the local borough recording an annual mean concentration of 41 [[microgram]]s per cubic metre (μg/m^3). In 2017, this figure was 34μg/m^3, below the legal limit, and in 2018, the figure was 32μg/m^3. The limit set by the [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs|Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs]] is 40μg/m^3.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/s83991/Annual%20Status%20Report.pdf |title=Southwark Air Quality Annual Status Report 2018 |date=June 2019 |website=[[London Borough of Southwark]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422102737/http://moderngov.southwark.gov.uk/documents/s83991/Annual%20Status%20Report.pdf|archive-date=22 April 2020|access-date=22 April 2020}}</ref>

The Elephant was to have been served by the [[Cross River Tram|Cross-River Tram]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legacy.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport/cross-river-tram.pdf |title=Cross River Tram |publisher=London Assembly |date=October 2008 |access-date=29 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004113046/http://legacy.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/transport/cross-river-tram.pdf |archive-date=4 October 2015 }}</ref> which was cancelled in 2008 due to budgetary constraints.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7712002.stm |title=TfL scraps projects and cuts jobs |work=BBC News |date=6 November 2008 |access-date=29 March 2014}}</ref>

In 2010, the southern roundabout was converted to traffic light operation, with the creation of new cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/4839 |title=Elephant & Castle southern roundabout to be removed by 11 October |work=London SE1 |date=28 September 2010 |access-date=29 March 2014}}</ref> This included the removal of the pedestrian subways, described as "unpopular and imtimidating" by a local councillor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12204909 |title=Elephant and Castle's 'intimidating' subways closed |work=BBC News |date=17 January 2011 |access-date=2 May 2014}}</ref>

In 2014 the Elephant & Castle junction was still "Britain's highest cycle casualty roundabout",<ref name="Matthew Beard"/> prompting a [[Transport for London|TfL]] proposal to remove the northern roundabout as part of a £4bn package of road improvements targeting cyclists' safety.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26432725 |title=£4bn plan to revamp London's roads announced |work=BBC News |date=4 March 2004 |access-date=29 March 2014}}</ref> TfL implemented its proposal in 2015, connecting the roundabout island to the shopping centre, thereby creating a new public space called [[Elephant Square]].