More car bans on Bank roads after death of cyclist
TRAFFIC will be banned from up to three roads leading into the City’s Bank junction under £18 million works to improve safety at the interchange.
It follows the permanent ban on vehicles in peak hours announced in September. The further measures will ban traffic at all times from half of the roads feeding the junction.
The City of London Corporation stopped short of a total vehicle ban at the junction but wants to “restrict two or three arms” of the six streets that feed into it so that priority is given to pedestrians and cyclists.
Plans for the “future vision” approved by the Corporation could see Threadneedle Street by the Bank of England completely pedestrianised for a street market, along with wider pavements and a cycle hire rack. The exact streets to be closed are yet to be decided.
The corporation said works may not be completed for the reopening of Bank station after its refurbishment in 2022.
The vehicle ban follows the death of cyclist Ying Tao, 26, who was crushed by a left-turning HGV at Bank as she rode to work in 2015. Casualties have since fallen by 52 per cent at the junction, and by 33 per cent in the wider area.
At its peak, some 1,300 vehicles every hour were crossing but now only buses and bicycles are allowed between 7am and 7pm on weekdays, to the fury of many cabbies, who have complained that it is causing gridlock and worsening air quality in adjoining roads.
Fran Graham, campaigns co-ordinator at the London Cycling Campaign, praised the work that has already been done at the junction however, saying: “This bold scheme has proved its worth, changing a hostile and dangerous junction into a space people can enjoy, while walking and cycling far more safely.”
Joe Irvin, chief executive of Living Streets, said: “With a growing population, the future of the City of London depends on a walkable streetscape.”
Chris Hayward, planning and transportation committee chairman, said: “Our data shows that the number of pedestrians using the junction has risen in recent years. With the completion of works to upgrade Bank station due in 2022, these numbers will only increase. It is vital that we take the next steps to meet this future demand.”