Figures reveal Hackney fares worst in London for serious cyclist casualties as Boris promises Old Street roundabout re-design
"Tech City", Old Street Roundabout - Credit: Archant
Hackney is faring worst of all London boroughs for serious cyclist casualties, as new figures show 55 bike riders were seriously injured and one was killed in the borough in 2012.
The most recent statistics from Transport for London (TfL) show that 4,613 cyclists were injured or killed on London’s roads in 2012, with 285 of those injuries happening in Hackney, putting it into the top five worst boroughs along with Westminster Lambeth, Wandsworth and Southwark.
Islington fared almost as badly coming next on the list with 45 serious casualties, and 219 minor injuries amongst bike riders.
The figures emerged as Jennette Arnold warned London Mayor Boris Johnson he must deliver on his promise to re-design road junctions across Hackney and Islington.
Last week Mr Johnson announced 33 of London’s largest and most dangerous road junctions will be re-designed to make them safer and less threatening for cyclists and pedestrians, in a programme costing £290 million.
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The Old Street roundabout and the Apex triangle junction in Shoreditch along with gyratories at Archway, Highbury Corner and the Nag’s Head in Islington are included in the proposals.
Local Labour London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold OBE said she welcomed the move, which “couldn’t come soon enough”.
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“The gyratories at Archway, Highbury Corner and the Nag’s Head in Islington, and the Apex Junction and Old Street Roundabout in Hackney, have always been sources of frustration for commuters, and places with a high number of accidents and, most sadly, fatalities for Londoners,” she said.
“As always, the detail of the scheme is what I am most interested in – rather than the Mayor’s rhetoric – so we now wait for the Mayor and Transport for London to put these words into action.
“If it’s done right, this programme will reduce congestion, improve road safety and, most importantly, save Londoners’ lives and the Mayor must do all he can to make sure this happens.”
Mr Johnson has promised to publish the plans, budgets and timelines this month.
Cyclist casualty rates have risen every year since 2006 and the London Assembly’s Transport Committee revealed on Thursday that more than two thirds of London Cyclists feel less safe now, than six months ago.
The figures are based on a survey completed by 6,300 people last November.
Most cyclists complained they feel squashed between cars and buses and need more space at critical junctions, and have said they won’t feel safe until they get more space.
