A man has died and another was left with life-threatening injuries last week after two accidents at the junction of Stamford Hill and Clapton Common.
Emergency services were called to the junction after the first accident at 7.30pm on the evening of Friday 4 March. A pedestrian was hit by a 253 bus, and the 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Just four days later another man, also believed to be in his forties, was rushed to hospital with a potentially fatal head injury after being struck by a car at the same junction just after 6am.
Police cordoned off the usually busy junction, causing severe delays and disruption to buses.
Fourth accident in four days at junction
The junction is described on the Transport for London website as having “one of the highest collision rates in all of Hackney”.
Between 2005 and 2014 there were 13 serious accidents at the site, leaving 16 people severely injured and one cyclist dead.
Liberal Democrat councillor Abraham Jacobson said in a tweet last Tuesday that four serious accidents had occurred in the area in four days.
https://twitter.com/abrjacobson/status/707120140975022080
Ahmed Ali, who works at Ports Off Licence and Supermarket near the junction, criticised the crossing system. Pedestrians currently have to wait at two or three pelican crossings to get from one side of the road to the other.
“People are always rushing, so they are not crossing when they should,” he said.
TfL has proposed changes to the junction, which are currently under consultation. But residents, local officials and cycling campaign groups have slammed the plans as piecemeal.
The current proposals include removing the left hand slip road from Amhurst Park into Stamford Hill, creating a new southbound bus lane and adding additional parking provisions.
However, pedestrians walking from Stamford Hill towards Stoke Newington will still have to cross the road in multiple stages, a decision that has been criticised as especially unsuitable for children and the elderly.
Rosemary Sales, a councillor for Stamford Hill West, said she wanted to see more extensive proposals to ensure the safety of cyclists.
“What I would like to see is the separation of cycle lanes so cyclists are not in danger. I witnessed an accident there just the other day where a cyclist was knocked off his bike,” she said.
“I would also like to see changes that slow down the cars coming up to the junction.”
An alternative plan for cyclist safety
Dr Rachel Aldred, senior lecturer in transport at the University of Westminster and a trustee of the London Cycling Campaign, also believes the plans are “problematic” to those travelling by bike.
She carried out an analysis of the proposed changes using TfL’s own junction assessment tool. Her cycling safety audit found that the plans for the junction between Stamford Hill and Clapton Common only scores four out of a possible 24 points for safety.
Dr Aldred said: “The plans leave cyclists at risk of left hooks – those going straight at the junction have no protection from left-turning traffic.
“Also, a cyclist turning right will have to cross multiple streams of motor traffic.”
Instead, Dr Aldred suggests the junction should be redesigned so those on bikes have time to pass through before the rest of the traffic.
Nigel Hardy, head of sponsorship for surface transport at TfL said: “We are committed to improving safety for cyclists and pedestrians at the junction of A10 Stamford Hill and Clapton Common.
“The proposals we are consulting on would make the junction much easier and safer to navigate by reducing the number of crossing stages, giving priority to pedestrians and putting in advance stop lines for cyclists.
“We encourage everyone to give us their views on these plans before the consultation closes on 18 March so that we can deliver the best scheme we can.”
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How can TFL and Hackney Council allow this slaughter of pedestrians to continue. Why do they put the interests of commuters before those of the lives of local residents? Does this amount to corporate manslaughter?