'No Progress' Upgrading Dangerous Junctions

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Murad Qureshi accuses Boris Johnson of being 'secretive'

Labour London Assembly member Murad Qureshi has criticised the Mayor Boris Johnson for failing to provide any information on planned works for two local dangerous junctions, at Chiswick Roundabout and Kew Bridge.

He said it was staggering that Boris Johnson had adopted such a "secretive, snail-pace approach" as we faced into winter and dangerous road conditions for cyclists.

The work was part of the Better Junctions programme , established to assess 500 of the worst junctions in the capital but was later ‘refocused’ by the Mayor to only tackle 33 of the worst performing junctions and gyratories across London, including Chiswick roundabout/Kew Bridge roundabout, a key danger hotspot.

In February of this year the Mayor had announced a £300 million programme to make London’s 'biggest and nastiest road junctions' safer for cyclists and pedestrians. The announcement promised details would be released in March with work to begin in the second half of the year.

Last month Val Shawcross AM asked the Mayor when he expected the work on each of the 33 dangerous junctions to be completed.

Mr. Qureshi said the Mayor’s recent evasive response that “this information will be released within the coming months” has prompted fears that the programme could be scaled back further.

“London’s cyclists and road users will be deeply concerned that more than two years on from the Mayor promising to review these danger hot points very little seems to have been done.

“Despite originally promising to review the five hundred most dangerous junctions the Mayor has scaled this back to only thirty-three, and now he can’t, or wont, even say what, if any, progress has been made on those including the infamous Chiswick roundabout/Kew Bridge roundabout in Hounslow. It is staggering that Boris Johnson has adopted such a secretive, snail-pace approach to this problem; especially given the number of cyclists killed and injured which prompted this review. As we head into winter and road conditions become more dangerous for cyclists people will want to know what is taking the Mayor so long.”

Most serious bike and pedestrian injuries and fatalities occur at junctions. In the last three years, more than 150 cyclists and pedestrians have been killed or seriously injured at the 33 locations originally earmarked for this funding.

October 23, 2014