Cycle campaigners on Tuesday wrapped one of London’s most dangerous junctions in “warning” tape as they named the 10 worst intersections in the capital.
The London Cycling Campaign said Transport for London and borough councils had been “shamefully slow” to improve safety at many junctions where cyclists and pedestrians were at greatest risk.
It has used five years of collision data to pinpoint the most dangerous locations – with a junction in Tooting named as the worst.
This is where Ansell Road, Derinton Road, Price Close and Lessingham Avenue intersect with Upper Tooting Road and Cycle Superhighway CS7, which uses plastic wands to attempt to segregate cyclists from vehicles.
About 3,000 cycling trips are made here each day but the roads leading to Upper Tooting Road are heavily used as “rat runs” or short cuts by drivers, with many vehicles turning in and out of the roads.
As a result, there have been 11 serious injuries - often with life-changing consequences, involving a stay in hospital – and 18 slight injuries to cyclists in the last five years.
The other junctions named as most dangerous for cyclists were:
* Lambeth Road & Kennington Road
* Wandsworth Road & North Street
* Mitcham Road & Leighton Street
* Finsbury Park & Blackstock Road
* Holborn (Station)
* Holborn (Theobalds Road)
* Queen’s Circus
* Shoreditch Triangle (Great Eastern Street & Curtain Road)
* Knightsbridge (incl. Albert Gate)
The London Cycling campaign first launched its dangerous junctions campaign in 2022 following the deaths of Dr Marta Krawiec and Shatha Ali at Holborn.
Last year the number of cyclists being killed or seriously injured in London rose year on year from 999 to 1,027, an increase of three per cent. This included seven fatalities.
This year seven people have died cycling in London. TfL has completed work at 44 of the 73 dangerous junctions it has been targeting since 2017, but critics say its designs are weak and it is moving too slowly.
Mayor Sadiq Khan’s target is to eliminate all road deaths in London by 2041. Last year there were 102 road deaths.
The London Cycling Campaign said the lack of haste in tackling known danger spots was resulting in more lives being lost or ruined every year.
It said the most dangerous junction in London for pedestrians was where Southall High Street and Avenue Road met. Here there have been two fatal collisions and two slight collisions in the last five years.
Tom Fyans, chief executive of London Cycling Campaign, said: “Behind this horrific data are hundreds of stories of families torn apart by tragedy and lives changed forever.
“Whilst cycling and indeed walking and wheeling remain relatively safe… TfL, the mayor and our boroughs must move faster and be bolder on road danger to stem the human cost posed by dangerous junctions and poor road designs.”
Celia Duncan, co-ordinator of Wandsworth Cycling Campaign, said: “Years of inaction on road danger and cycling means it is sadly unsurprising that Wandsworth not only has the most dangerous junction for cycling in its bounds, but two junctions in the top 10.
“We’ve known for years that the rat runs that intersect Cycle Superhighway CS7 need tackling, and that far from being ‘revolutionary’, Queen’s Circus falls far below modern cycling design standards; and that our Council prioritises driving convenience over the physical safety of its residents.”
