Hoxton roundabout changes branded “farcical waste of public money”

Users of a �560,000 road scheme designed to improve cyclist safety, say changes have made the junction more dangerous and branded it a waste of public money.

The roundabout on the intersection of Hoxton Street, Whitmore Road, Pitfield Street and Hyde Road has been converted into a give-way junction, and was opened last week after a final week-long closure for road re-surfacing.

Cyclist Paul Begley who crosses the junction with his children every morning en route from their Hoxton home to Rotherfield Primary School in Rotherfield Street, Islington, says the project has been a “farcical waste of public money,” at a time when public services are being cut.

“While it has always been awkward to cross the road, this new junction and traffic flow have made it very dangerous - this is a needless project that seems to be a real botch job from start to finish,” he said.

“The roundabout kept the traffic flowing nicely and they made a crossroads with a ridiculously tight turning margin.

“The pavements have been widened and made absolutely enormous at some parts, I have no idea how many people they expect to pass through them.

“They also decided to change the way the traffic flows after a week or two and had no notices up saying that the road layout had changed yet again - this is downright dangerous especially at night,” he said.

Located at the intersection of two London Cycle Network (LCN+) routes, the junction was pinpointed as “one of the least comfortable bits of both routes” in a survey several years ago.

The council came up with �100,000 towards the scheme while the rest was paid for by the government’s Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG).

A council spokeswoman said: “The council is committed to making roads in the borough safer for all users, and continues to introduce schemes that are largely focused on reducing the perception of danger to cyclists, removing barriers to walking and cycling and improving the public realm.”