‘Cycleway is dangerous. I’ve seen three incidents since it’s been here’
Claims traders are losing money due to experimental bike lane
Friday, 19th January 2024 — By Charlotte Chambers
Eglal Gomaa outside her deli Girasole in Seven Sisters Road
AN experimental bike lane is dangerous and is losing businesses money, says the chair of the traders’ association in Seven Sisters Road.
Eglal Gomaa, who runs Girasole deli, was describing the newly launched Cycleway 50, which was finally completed last month after almost a year of works.
It starts at the Seven Sisters Road junction with Holloway Road and goes up to Finsbury Park tube station.
Ms Gomaa said: “In the nine years that I’ve been here, I have never seen any incidents around this area, with cyclists or cars. But since they put this lane in I’ve seen three.
“I’ve seen this guy, the bike was a rental bike – it was a completely damaged. The guy in the car took this guy to the hospital. And I said to TfL that if there is any accident and someone gets hurt, I will hold them responsible because what they are doing is really out of line. It’s not safe whatsoever.”
Ms Gomaa, who opened Girasole in 2015 after moving to London from Italy 20 years ago, and lives around the corner in Thane Villas, said she is not against the bike lane because it marks a change. “I am a big fan of changes,” she said. “What I dispute is the danger of the whole system. It is impractical.”
As of last night (Thursday), a petition against the cycle lane’s position was at nearly 700 signatures, and her business association plans to join forces with the Holloway Road Traders’ Association to try and have greater influence in the area.
Unlike usual practice where the bike path runs alongside traffic on the left-hand side, the bike route in Seven Sisters Road has been switched to the right-hand side.
Transport for London moved the bike route to the right side of the road to make it “safer” for cyclists, a TfL officer told businesses at a public meeting. It said it would monitor the traffic and pollution for up to 18 months and could still make changes if concerns arose in a later consultation.
A Transport for London spokesperson said it would not be possible to analyse the new route’s “impact” until construction along the whole route, running from Camden Town to Finsbury Park, is completed. She was unable to say when that would be, or when the consultation will be launched. She added: “All routes are designed and constructed according to the London Cycling Design Standards.”
