Traffic was brought to a standstill last Thursday as protestors walked round the Archway gyratory dressed as cats.
Local residents and road safety activists were led by campaigners dressed as Dick Whittington across the dangerous junction which they say should be replaced by a two-way system.
The protester’s fancy dress was inspired by the legend of Whittington, who just meters away from the Archway spot heard the Bow bells predict his fortune: “Turn again, Dick Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London.”
Locals hope this year’s mayoral candidates will also change their mind about the roundabout – and cough up the £3m needed to rebuild the traffic system.
Kate Calvert, Chair of Better Archway Forum, says the gyratory – which connects Junction Road, Highgate Hill, Archway Road and Holloway Road – is an annoyance to pedestrians and damages the local economy.
Ms Calvert said: “The gyratory has been here for forty years, preventing the heart of Archway. There are eight lanes of traffic but actually the majority of users are pedestrians and cyclists.”
Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, believes scrapping the gyratory would help keep Archway vibrant. “We want the whole community to become accessible – we’ve got a very successful series of shops and we want to keep it that way.”
A musical instrument maker from Bounds Green said he had come to the protest to push politicians into taking cyclists into account.
Will Embliss cycled alongside other participants in a specially designed musical bike trailer.
“I come through here very often and it’s not very cycle friendly,” he said. “This roundabout was designed many years ago there’s no protection at all for the cyclists.”
The gyratory was built in the 1960s before road builders’ plans to create a large urban motorway were scrapped.
While Paul Convery, Labour environment chief councillor voiced his support for replacing the roundabout last April, the decision lies with Transport for London, who control the city’s main transport budget.
The event comes following a serious of high profile cyclist deaths on London’s roads, which have sparked calls for better bike safety policy. 24-year-old student Deep Lee died after being hit by a lorry in King’s Cross in October.
2Way Archway from Islington Now on Vimeo.
