Lewisham Council is being asked to move a traffic island on Sydenham Road, where locals claim accidents happen “once a month”.
The junction between Sydenham Road and Mayow Road is reportedly the location of regular collisions.
After speaking to several local businesses in the area, they claim there is an accident there at least “once a month.”
When asked why, one business owner said: “It’s the placement of the traffic island. The road is too narrow so when people are trying to switch lanes or turn right they collide.”
The business owner, who works directly opposite the junction, added: “There is an accident here once a month. The traffic lights seem to fall down as a result far too often.
“They don’t seem stable.”
They said that accidents happen so often, they have started to say “See you next month” to whoever comes to fix the lights.
Last month, Lauryn, a mother from Sydenham claimed she suffered injuries to herself, her three-year-old and her car was ‘ruined’ after she said a collision forced her up the curb onto the island.
“A vehicle came speeding to overtake on a single narrow lane,” Lauryn claims, “pushing me into the island and traffic lights falling onto my vehicle.”
“My son suffered a head injury and I suffered whiplash. And my car was absolutely ruined.”
She explained that although there was a collision, the lights are what caused the most damage: “The traffic lights were clearly not securely in the ground for them to be knocked down that easily.
“I wouldn’t have had so much damage if they hadn’t been there. They could be moved further down the road.
“It could have killed me and my child if I had been going any faster,” she said.
Lauryn told us that she, like the business owners we spoke to, wants to bring more awareness to this issue – claiming: “Lewisham Council is responsible for this area but has failed to do anything about it to make it safe.
“The lights could be placed on the other side of the road for safety reasons, for instance. We need action immediately.”
We asked Lewisham Council if they were aware of the issue and if there were any plans to move the island.
Cllr Louise Krupski, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Action, told us: “We are aware of the road safety issues at this junction and plans are already being developed to improve the management of traffic, including changes to the traffic lights system, in order to improve road safety and reduce traffic and congestion.
“Proposals for improvement works at this junction will be published later this year and shared with local residents, businesses and other key stakeholders for feedback.”
But they added that because they are in the development stage, there is no more details as to what the plans will entail.
https://southwarknews.co.uk/news/locals-call-for-action-to-improve-a-south-london-road-where-they-claim-accidents-happen-once-a-month/
