Lambeth roads among most dangerous in London

Lambeth’s roads are among the most dangerous in London. 22 fatal road traffic collisions have taken place since 2019 and exactly 50 percent of people who lost their lives were pedestrians. 

In the same period, there have been 4,610 fatal, serious, or slight traffic accidents in Lambeth. It is the second most dangerous London borough, behind Westminster.   

This month, Lambeth Council published its long-anticipated Road Danger Reduction Strategy which lays out its plan to make Lambeth “one of the safest boroughs in London”. 

The Labour administration said their new approach to improving road safety “challenges the status quo” by putting more weight on area-wide solutions, such as Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods. The Council says that Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods have reduced speeding by up to 75 percent. 

Lambeth Liberal Democrats are concerned that only five projects are named in the Implementation Plan: 

• Slade Gardens 

• Stockwell Gardens 

• Tulse Hill 

• Coldharbour Lane 

• Leigham Court Road 

They are worried that this shift to larger, area-wide schemes like Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods might result in the Council ignoring important road safety measures at a more local scale.  

The Lib Dems say the Council has already u-turned on one scheme following the launch of the new Strategy. Residents in Rodenhurst Road, Clapham, were told in November 2022 that a plan to install sinusoidal speed bumps had been approved and installation was “expected in Spring 2023”. 

However, Lib Dem Councillor, Ben Curtis, was informed last week that the Rodenhurst Road project had been “paused” due to the “new approach to speed reduction” outlined in the Road Danger Reduction Strategy. 

At last week’s Cabinet meeting, Lib Dem Councillor Matthew Bryant said: 

“One of the striking things about the Strategy is that it’s steering the ship away from standalone collision reduction schemes towards a set of wider projects. Surely there should be room for both approaches, particularly when there are low-cost solutions that can be implemented locally? 

In response, the Council said, “Inevitably, we do need to prioritise locations where there is evidence of greatest road danger, but we are always open to suggestions about street-by-street innovations.” 

Commenting, Cllr Donna Harris, Leader of the Lambeth Liberal Democrat Group, said: 

“A piecemeal one-size-fits-all approach is clearly not going to work through the entire borough. We certainly can’t wait until the data shows a fatal incident before safety measures are taken. 

“We are extremely frustrated, especially as we have been requesting traffic calming schemes on several roads throughout Streatham Hill West and Thornton since being elected. 

“Thornton Avenue, Kings Avenue, Weir Road, and Sternhold Avenue – where a nursery school recently opened – are of great concern for us and residents. We will continue to push the council for improvements on these roads to ensure they are safe for everyone.”