On 9th November 2011 at the Mayor's Question time session, Local London Assembly member, John Biggs, challenged the Mayor of London to act following the recent cycling fatality at Bow Street Roundabout.
At a City Hall debate on Transport Biggs challenged the Mayor to take action and urgently review cyclist and pedestrian safety at the roundabout. John Biggs has been calling on Transport for London (TfL) and the Mayor to improve safety at the roundabout for more than two years, seeing the location as an 'accident waiting to happen'. Following the tragic death John Biggs has asked the Mayor and TfL to act urgently.
John has put forward his case for urgent action to be taken to make the roundabout safer. It will become even more of an issue during the Olympics given the even higher traffic demands, including increased pedestrian flows, on the junction and surrounding roads.
The sorts of changes to be examined would include putting full pedestrian crossing facilities into the roundabout, examining the road markings and signs, and changing the traffic light timings to give vulnerable users time to cross or pass through more safely.
Local London Assembly member, John Biggs said: “Boris needs to get an urgent grip on this situation and show leadership to make our roads safe for cyclists. At Wednesday’s Transport Debate the Mayor spoke with admiration for cyclists, but he needs to stop dithering and take action to keep our streets safe.
TfL have previously said that there is nothing that they can do to make the roundabout safer, without causing traffic jams. It is time they bite the bullet and accept longer journey times for motorists in exchange for keeping pedestrians and cyclists safe.”
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Notes
- John Biggs is the London Assembly member for City and East, covering the boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Newham, Barking & Dagenham and the City of London.
- The Agenda and a webcast of the meeting is at - http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=179&MId=4331&Ver=4