Steve Knattress of Cycle Islington

CYCLING activists are demanding action after a junction was dubbed one of the most dangerous in London.

The junction where Blackstock Road meets Seven Sisters Road and Stroud Green Road has been named the fifth most dangerous junction for cyclists in London.

Safety campaigners are now calling on Transport for London (TfL) to extend the cycle lane Cycleway50, which currently stops at Finsbury Park railway bridge, to include the junction. Cycleway50 is a segregated lane for cyclists that separates them from traffic.

“My fear is that people coming up on the C50 superhighway will suddenly be dumped at a dangerous junction. A few segregated lanes does not a route make, as they say. We want a segregated safe route all the way, and not stopping at Finsbury Park,” said Steve Knattress, a Cycle Islington committee member.

Campaigners say that one cyclist has lost his life close at the junction, another has been seriously injured, and a further eight have been hurt in incidents all around the junction.

Jono Kenyon, who lives in Finsbury Park Road and regularly cycles through the junction, said: “It’s total carnage, and we just, as a society, shrug and say ‘c’est la vie’, and it doesn’t have to be like that. I think there is an appetite for change but it doesn’t seem to have a driving force.”

Mr Kenyon argues that until proper safety measures are taken to protect cyclists, only a select few will get on their bikes, having a negative impact on the environment and health.

The junction where Blackstock Road meets Seven Sisters Road and Stroud Green Road

He said: “If you look at the junction, who’s going to cycle there? Kids? The elderly? No way.

“You create an environment that’s totally uninviting for young families and women, who are less willing to mix with heavy traffic, and the elderly are completely excluded.

“People have made announcements about wanting to make the roads safer but it’s not happening. We’re just not doing it fast enough.”

He added: “TfL is spending two thousand million pounds, that’s two billion pounds, on a new road tunnel. OK, so we’re spending that on what is basically a motorway, so there is money, but it’s not being spent on saving Londoners’ lives.”

Mr Kenyon and his partner, Dr Tabitha Tanqueray, were at the scene of the death of Abrajah Rafiq – a cyclist who was hit by a bus on Seven Sisters Road last year.

“I cycle everywhere. I’m very bold about cycling on London’s roads, but I feel scared and intimidated at that junction. I’ve seen plenty of collisions at that junction, including cyclists being knocked off.

“You’re aware that the traffic’s right on top of you and you’ll be injured,” she said.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We are currently delivering the section of C50 from Finsbury Park to Camden, which includes providing safe cycle provision through Nags Head.

“We continue to keep data on all junctions in London under close review and are ready to look at changes where necessary.

“The next phases of major schemes like C50 are dependent on future funding.

“We welcome London Cycling Campaign’s research and will be working closely with campaigners, councils and local communities across the capital on our investment in new infrastructure over the coming years.”