Croydon and Enfield share dubious honour of having the most dangerous roads in London

Croydon and Enfield were the most dangerous boroughs in London since 2010 when it comes to read deaths, each recording 33 deaths in the time period.

In Croydon those killed ranged in age from 14 to 88, and 304 people were injured in the town centre, according to Department for Transport figures. An iteractive map of the incidents in Croydon has been compiled by the Croydon Advertiser using the DfT data (see below). 

Austen Cooper, from the Croydon Cycling Campaign, told Croydon Advertiser it was clear that the worst roads and junctions should now be reassessed.

He said: “The maps show that while traffic collisions of varying severity can and do happen on roads throughout the borough, there are clusters on the busiest ones and at junctions, particularly those designed with a 1960s mindset – to enable traffic to pass through swiftly.”

It’s not the first time we’ve reported the inhospitable nature of Croydon for cyclists. Last year we reported how the London Borough of Croydon sought £2.8 million for funding for cycling from Transport for London (TfL) between 2006/07 and 2008/09.

The borough received £1.8 million of that, but had spent only £1.4 million.

And earlier this year we reported that a review of the safety of cyclists among tram lines all over Croydon was ordered after coroner Selena Lynch issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report following her investigation into the 2013 death of cyclist Roger De Klerk.

Mr De Klerk was riding along Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon on November 12 2013, just before midday. He stopped at lights, then turned left into Addiscombe Road, where his wheels became caught in the tramlines, causing him to fall into the path of an oncoming bus.

Mr Cooper said: “We need ... the council working in partnership with Transport for London to be proactive and identify the most dangerous places for all road users and make them safer.

“Failing to act – or waiting for fatalities and coroners’ complaints – means people are put off walking and cycling and others are killed or injured, with us all paying the financial costs of that.”

Next month, the authority will make an attempt to reduce the legal speed limit in a number of residential roads to 20mph.

“We expect that reducing speed will cut accidents and the severity of those that still occur,” said Kathy Bee, the council’s cabinet member for transport and the environment.

“Road safety is a really important; a serious accident can be devastating and every accident that is prevented is a good thing.

“My understanding is that it is usually the more deprived areas where there are more accidents, and Croydon is not unusual in this. Our more deprived areas are more likely to have housing in the vicinity of busy roads.

“Some of our ‘hottest spots’ are busy junctions on main roads managed by TfL and we are lobbying for improvements on these roads.”

Last year we reported how Enfield won a share of Mayor of London Boris Johnson's 'Mini-Hollands' initiative money.

Along with two other boroughs it was awarded £30m funding, which aims to prioritise cycling in outer London town centres, including through redesigning junctions using Dutch-style infrastructure.

Mr Johnson said: "I have been incredibly impressed with the standard of the mini-Holland entries and by the thirst among all the finalists to transform themselves into better places for people. It has been so hard to choose between them that I have decided that all shall have prizes.

“Areas once terra incognita for the bicycle will, over time, become every bit as cycle-friendly as their Dutch equivalents - places that suburbs and towns all over Britain will want to copy.”

Map: Croydon Advertiser