Wednesday 27 February 2013

We need more from the Mayor for our dangerous junctions


It has emerged that an average of just £266,000 will be spent on each of the top fifty dangerous junctions in London due to be completed by the end of this year. 

This is not great news for those trying to improve junction safety at places like the Streatham High Road/Mitcham Lane Junction.  (TfL agreed to undertake a safety review of this junction and we are awaiting the results).

We have already covered the kind of thing that can be done to transform dangerous junctions like this if there is the creativity, financing and the political will.  In the long run it saves lives and hugely improves the quality of life, as well as contributing to footfall in local shops and boosting local economies.

But of the £19m allocated for the reviews, innovations and improvements at dangerous junctions in London over a two year period, the government have provided £15m, whilst Transport for London have contributed just £4m.

TfL estimates that the major safety improvements to the top 100 junctions will cost between £66m and £93m.

As Darren Johnson, Green London Assembly Member says: “Saving money rather than saving lives seems to be the decisive factor behind the initial round of 50 junction improvements. 

There will be very few of the big transformations that are needed to create safer spaces for cyclists and pedestrians. We deserve the well designed junctions which the Mayor promised when he signed up to the Go Dutch standards, but that will only happen if the Mayor makes these schemes a budget priority.

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