TfL must act urgently on Holloway Road danger junction (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

TfL must act urgently on Holloway Road danger junction

September 12, 2008 12:31 PM

Liberal Democrat councillors George Allan and Andrew Cornwell campaign for safer cycling

Islington's Liberal Democrat councillors are calling on Transport for London to urgently review safety on Holloway Road following a tragic road accident in which a popular local community campaigner was killed by a cement mixer lorry outside the Islington Central Library.

The fatality occurred at the junction of Holloway Road and Fieldway Crescent, a well-known local accident blackspot that campaigners have been protesting to TfL about for years. Islington Cycling Action Group, Islington Council, and the Liberal Democrats have all brought the issue of this junction up with Transport for London over many years, and a 2006 TfL cycle route study highlighted the problems with the junction.

TfL responded by painting the cycle lane green - which didn't make the junction any safer.

The junction is too wide, and traffic going through green lights is often gridlocked before it gets out of the other side of the junction. Then the green lights from the other directions cause cars to enter before the first have cleared the junction. This effect is exacerbated by the dog-leg nature of the junction, as Fieldway Crescent isn't aligned with Madras Place. The result can be traffic chaos.

Liberal Democrat campaigners have now demanded that TfL look urgently at making this junction safer, calling for a total redesign.

Councillor Greg Foxsmith, Islington's Executive Member for Transport, and a cyclist who regularly commutes up and down Holloway Road, slammed Transport for London for their total inaction on this issue for years. He said:

"Concerns about safety at this junction have been raised with Transport for London by cycling campaigners for years now, and it's well known as a blackspot by people who cycle down or across Holloway Road. TfL's response was a blob of green paint - but that didn't make people safer.

"It shouldn't take tragic accidents to force TfL to finally act, but now they must see that something major needs to be done here - and urgently."