Construction around Old Street has led to traffic spilling into side streets, raising concerns among local residents.
Residents have voiced worries over the emissions produced by traffic queues, as well as safety for patients entering the nearby Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Hospital.
The construction work at Old Street, designed to create a better environment for walkers and cyclists, has led to motorists using side streets to bypass the congestion.
Speaking to Islington Now, Christopher Reeve, a Bunhill resident, said navigation apps were sending drivers down Bath Street and Peerless Street, leading to increased traffic levels.
“The congestion results in motorists blowing horns and shouting when getting stuck on narrow Peerless Street,” he said. “Both cyclists and motorcyclists mount the pavement to get past the cars that block the road – opposite the children’s eye hospital.”
“I’m in support of the changes to the Old Street junction, but they should not be done in a way that makes nearby side roads more dangerous while the works are done.”
Residents have raised this issue several times, most recently during the October St Luke’s Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) meeting, where the TRA said it had reported the issue with the Islington Council many times.
A petition started by the Better Bunhill & Clerkenwell group raises similar concerns. The petition warns the traffic “generates pollution, noise and danger of accidents” near St Luke’s Primary School and the hospital.
The traffic has been further worsened by diversions into Bath Street, due to construction for The Arc – a residential development.
Reeve described the area as an “unpleasant walking environment”, and an issue the council and Transport for London (TfL) have failed to respond to.
Recent Bunhill Ward meetings have seen plans for traffic reduction in Bath Street set to be implemented by March 2022, pending TfL approval and public consultation, with the aim of creating a “people-friendly street”.
