Police at the scene in Liverpool Road [Nina Kharshiladze]

A TRAFFIC collision in Liverpool Road has sparked concerns about the safety of the street layout, which was redesigned during the Covid pandemic.

A 49-year-old woman was hit by a motorbike at the junction with Lofting Road on Tuesday evening and thrown some two metres into a parked car, according to eye witnesses.

Though her injuries are not thought to be severe, residents have subsequently told how the road’s cycle lanes, flanked by parked cars, have created a dangerous lack of visibility for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians.

“This location has been dangerous for some time, particularly since the newer road layout and the amount of parked cars along the street,” said Nina Kharshiladze, whose partner witnessed the collision this week and chased after the motorbike rider who failed to stop at the scene.

“Visibility is very limited. Drivers often cannot see pedestrians stepping out from between parked cars, and pedestrians cannot properly see what is coming. It creates a blind crossing point.”

Ms Kharshiladze’s dog, Bruno, was hit by a car last summer in the same spot, leaving him blind in one eye.

“Because of the layout and the parked cars, neither we nor the driver had a clear view,” she said, adding: “I genuinely feel anxious every time I see children crossing there. It feels like the situation is being left until there is a fatal incident before anything meaningful is done.”

Bruno the dog was blinded in one eye after being hit by a car [Nina Kharshiladze]

Neighbour Jo Michaelides, who leads the anti-pollution community group Save Lungs on Liverpool Road, similarly told the Tribune she has seen many cyclists almost hit by cars since the road layout changed in September 2020.

“It’s a more dangerous road than it was six years ago,” she said. “Trying to cross Liverpool Road is a bigger challenge than trying to cross Upper Street, because you’re basically crossing four lanes of traffic.”

Ms Michaelides said that if a driver is trying to turn left, the ranks of parked cars block visibility of the cycle lane.

And if residents want to have electric vehicles, they are unable to charge them, because the parking is separated from the kerb by the cycle lane.

Despite contacting Islington Council, Ms Michaelides is not hopeful that the road will be put back to the way it was before. “I don’t think it’s a priority for them,” she said. “It was done in a hurry with very little consultation during Covid times, and I don’t think they would ever reverse it.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “Cycleway 38 was introduced as a trial in 2020 and made perma­nent in 2021. We monitor the street closely to make sure it works well for everyone, and we will continue to keep this under careful review, including by reviewing the collision statistics for the road. We remain committed to making our streets safer, and easier to get around, and where evidence shows that changes are needed, we will act.”

Anyone with informa­tion is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD6111/ 10FEB26.