Introduction
The main entrance to the Victoria Palace Theatre is located on a wide footway, however it is one that is busy in the peak hours due to pedestrian commuter traffic. Alongside this footway is Victoria Street, a relatively busy highway with a geometry that could present a security risk to queuing guests without the implementation of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM).
On a tight programme, Momentum assessed the TfL Pedestrian Comfort Level (PCL) on the footway with and without the implementation of the HVM planters. This analysis provided the necessary evidence that the footway could accommodate the planters while retaining an acceptable PCL. We used our existing knowledge of the area from our work on the adjacent Nova Victoria regarding the future footway widths post construction and the pedestrian demand on the footway. We used our event planning and crowd modelling expertise to calculate and account for the necessary queuing space before a show. The HVM proposals and supporting evidence were presented to TfL at the public realm review panel, who approved the HVM implementation.
