London Cycling Campaign: 10 most dangerous junctions for pedestrians revealed for 2023

A west-London junction has been named the most dangerous in the capital for pedestrians for 2023.

Analysing the latest emergency services ‘Stats19’ collision data, the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) has developed an interactive map indicating the junctions where both cyclists and pedestrians are most at-risk.

As covered by LondonWorld earlier this week, the cluster of junctions where Ansell Road, Derinton Road, Price Close and Lessingham Avenue intersect with Upper Tooting Road were identified as the most lethal for cyclists by the LCC.

The Southall High Street and Avenue Road intersection meanwhile was named as the worst for pedestrians, where the LCC said “a ‘ratrun’ meets a congested shopping street with high football and restricted sightlines”.

According to the group's analysis, there have been two fatal pedestrian collisions in the area in the last five years, as well as two slight collisions. The second most-dangerous cluster of junctions, around the ‘Shoreditch Triangle’ area between Old Street and Liverpool Street, recorded 10 slight collisions, three serious and one fatal.

London mayor Sadiq Khan and Transport for London (TfL) have committed to a ‘Vision Zero’ by 2041, by which point they are aiming for all deaths and serious injuries to be eliminated from the transport network, though the LCC is calling for works to be sped-up to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians at junctions in the capital.

Tom Fyans, chief executive at London Cycling Campaign, said: “Behind this horrific data are hundreds of stories of families torn apart by tragedy and lives changed forever. 

“The mayor has committed to a 'Vision Zero' for London by 2041 – but that would mean over 17 years more fatal and serious collisions for Londoners – we need to be faster and bolder. 

“Whilst cycling and indeed walking and wheeling remain relatively safe, healthy ways of getting about London, TfL, the mayor and our boroughs must move faster and be bolder on road danger to stem the human cost posed by dangerous junctions and poor road designs.” 

Where are the most dangerous junctions in London for pedestrians?

According to the LCC’s analysis, the most dangerous junctions for pedestrians are:

1. Ealing: Southall High Street and Avenue Road

2. Hackney: Phipp Street-Great Eastern Street-Gatesborough Street-Curtain Road-New Inn Yard-Leonard Street

3. Hackney: Kingsland High Street-Winchester Place

4. City of London: Cannon Street-Laurence Pountney Lane-King William Street-Martin Lane-Eastcheap-Gracechurch Street-Pudding Lane

5. Westminster: Vauxhall Bridge Road-Bressenden Place-Victoria Street-Carlisle Place

6. Southwark: Peckham Road-Melon Road-Bellenden Road-Peckham High Street

7. Westminster: Cockspur Street-Strand Whitehall-Trafalgar Square-Northumberland Avenue-Charing Cross-The Mall

8. Tower Hamlets: Mile End Road-Grove Road-Burdett Road

9. Camden: Euston Road-Pancras Road-Belgrove Street

10. Lewisham: Torridon Road-Brownhill Road

Jeremy Leach, chair at London Living Streets, said: “This mapping shows the horrific impact not only to those cycling, but also to pedestrians, from dangerous junctions across the whole of London. 

“Almost 4,000 people were killed or seriously injured on London’s roads last year and well over half of those were either walking or cycling. This is simply an unacceptable level of loss and road danger that people walking and cycling face. London must take bolder steps to make these junctions safe for those on foot too. 

“The actions needed are well known and include pedestrian phases on all arms of crossings, enough time to cross, no more than a 30 second wait and crossings in the places that pedestrians need them.”

A TfL spokesperson said: “Any death or serious injury on the roads is one too many and we are determined to end the devastating consequences of road danger by working with London boroughs to make roads safer, including at junctions.

“We have reduced danger at 44 junctions across London as part of our Safer Junctions programme and we continue to work on designs for a significant number of further locations in collaboration with our partners in the London Boroughs, including many of those highlighted by this data.

"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.”

Walking and cycling commissioner Will Norman said: “The mayor and I are committed to eliminating deaths and serious injuries from London’s streets. We are delivering high-quality cycle routes and investing in work that makes dangerous junctions safer – we have a strong track record, having almost quadrupled the size of London's cycleway network since 2016, from 90km to 350km this year.

“We have also accelerated our 20mph speed limit programme and are tightening the Direct Vision Safety standard for HGVs.”