Islington councillors Laura Willoughby, Terry Stacy and John Gilbert presented a petition to GLA member Caroline Pidgeon this week in protest urging action to improve safety on the junction of Holloway Road, Fieldway Crescent and Madras Place. Caroline, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, formally presented the petition to Mayor of London Boris Johnson, asking him to take action.
The petition has been signed by around 300 Islington residents and was organised by the Liberal Democrat Councillors from Highbury East ward.
After presenting the petition on Wednesday morning Caroline said:
"I am delighted to be able to support this campaign. It is absolutely necessary to make the junction safer for both cyclists and pedestrians. I have already asked two questions to the Mayor over this issue and I hope this petition really forces Boris Johnson to ensure Transport for London sort out this problem."
Councillor John Gilbert said: "Local councillors and residents have been asking for changes to this junction for many years. There has already been a death at this junction as well as many near misses. The dangerous positioning of the traffic lights at the junction of Holloway Road with Fieldway Crescent and Madras Place must be addressed before any further accidents take place."
The petition was presented to Boris Johnson was presented by Caroline Pidgeon at the London Assembly Plenary Session on 18th March. In response to written questions from Caroline in September 2008 about progress on safety measures the Mayor wrote:
TfL has undertaken a review of the last three years of collision data for the junction of Holloway Road with Madras Place/Fieldway Crescent. In conjunction with this study, a site assessment has been undertaken and previous design options work has been re-examined.
Options could include relocating an existing pedestrian crossing on the south side of the junction so that it is closer to the pedestrian 'desire line' (the point at which pedestrians naturally cross) and introducing a new pedestrian crossing on the north side of the junction. TfL will progress preliminary design and traffic modelling of these options at the start of the 2009/10 financial year.
When pushed again in October 2008 he said:
TfL is currently undertaking a review of the last three years of collision data for the junction of Holloway Road with Madras Place/Fieldway Crescent. In conjunction with this study, a review of the previous design options is being carried out along with an on-site assessment to identify options to improve conditions for both pedestrians and cyclists.
"The presentation of the petition shows the fustration of local people not being able to get a result - how much reviewing needs to be done?" added John Gilbert.
Photo: Councillor Emily Fieran-Reed, Councillor Terry Stacy, Caroline Pidgeon AM, Councillor Laura Willoughby and Councillor John Gilbert present the petition at City Hall