Too weak, Sadiq!

Take 2 minutes and tell Sadiq Khan his junction designs are far too weak

Transport for London straight off the boil

Please take action to tell Sadiq, TfL and everyone you know that instead of leaping forward to deliver more cycling in a climate crisis, TfL now seems to be rolling out schemes that would have been considered too weak for cycling and London a decade ago.

Take two minutes and email Sadiq now.

The Mayor and TfL are committed to targets that demand bold and rapid action on active travel. That means they really need to crack on fast and deliver high-quality schemes that enable more people to walk, wheel and cycle safely. Instead, TfL is acting like it has forgotten how to be bold for cycling or public transport, much less both.

The 90s called and want their schemes back

TfL’s latest plans in Shoreditch for the junction with Curtain Road are far too weak. This is the second most dangerous junction for cycling in London according to LCC mapping, and the sixth most dangerous junction in London for pedestrians. It’s a horror. We were there calling for change in November as part of our Dangerous Junctions campaign, but this is not the change we were calling for.

This design won’t eliminate all serious collisions and will remain hugely hostile for everyone. Advanced Stop Line ‘cycle boxes’ at the front of the lights rather than separate signals for cycling? People walking, wheeling and cycling forced to share crossings and chunks of pavement? The 1990s called and they want their schemes back. Not good enough – take action today.

Not only are TfL’s proposals for Great Eastern Street nowhere near good or bold enough on safety grounds, they’re just the latest in a line of schemes that look like they came from decades ago – weak, compromised schemes that won’t get you ‘Vision Zero’, or Net Zero by 2030, or 80% of all London journeys done by sustainable or active modes by 2041. You need to be a lot bolder on this and every major scheme and instead TfL are dusting off stuff that looks like it would have been out of date ten years back.

At this scheme specifically, please:

• At Curtain Road, ban the additional turn and remove the slip road – but do more to reduce private motor traffic and boost safe cycling at this junction. This is currently the second most dangerous in London for cycling according to LCC mapping, yet, ASLs here could have come from the 90s. Do better.
• Design all key junctions and links to ensure Curtain Road, Great Eastern Street and Shoreditch High Street are safe, and enable active travel and public transport – in short, be bolder all round.
• Particularly of concern is the north-south corridor along Shoreditch High Street, currently listed as ‘highest potential’ for cycling on TfL’s Strategic Cycling Analysis (2023) and a key bus corridor. There’s already bus-only sections – which are very welcome, but more needs to be done to reduce private motor traffic here to enable safe cycling and speed up bus journeys.

Worse, this latest scheme is just one of many poorly thought out proposals of late, and we demand better! Please get bolder, do better, move faster. Take action now.