In response to TFL proposals for a 20 mph speed limit for the Finchley Rd, Cllr Andrew Parkinson has written a letter about this issue, published in the Camden New Journal
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'Finchley Road is a nightmare for pedestrians. The pavements are an obstacle course of dumped rubbish, cracked and uneven paving, abandoned hire bikes, and bins. It is difficult to navigate with a buggy – impossible with a wheelchair.
For years, residents have told us that the pedestrian crossings are dangerous. Many do not have a dedicated time for pedestrians to cross, particularly at Arkwright Road, Frognal Lane, West End Lane and Platts Lane.
Pedestrians must pick their moment to run across, hoping that a car doesn’t turn off Finchley Road into their path at the same moment. Recently a Frognal resident was hit by a car at West End Lane. More accidents are likely to follow unless something is done.
But more than ‘something’ or anything – the right thing. That’s why Frognal’s Conservative councillors have funded a feasibility study to look into installing green man crossings at these accident hotspots.
I had a productive meeting with TfL on site last week, and the results of the study are likely to come out in the next six months. If feasible, I hope funding the works will have cross party support.
This is a direct response to residents’ long-term concerns. Finchley Road has been neglected by Sadiq Khan and Camden Council, but when they’re intervened before, it’s been for the worse.
Khan’s decision in 2020 to create a bottleneck by reducing northbound traffic to a single lane caused traffic from the O2 Centre back to Lord’s cricket ground. This bottleneck was backed by Camden Labour, and was only overturned after a campaign by Conservative councillors.
Now, Khan and Camden want to recreate that farce and reduce Finchley Road to gridlock by introducing a 20mph speed limit, even where it’s a dual carriageway. When all residents keep want are some pedestrian crossings that they and we have been begging for for years'
Cllr Andrew Parkinson, Frognal
email [email protected]
