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Click here for a map (96K) showing the result of the count, and here for our counting spreadsheet (72K).
Date: 10/10/00 Time: 8-10am Weather: Dry, cold, overcast Location: Junction Shacklewell Lane/St Mark's Rise, London E8
Carried out by Tim Evans, Oliver Schick, Lucy Thomas
The total count of cyclists was 133, with the greatest number (61%/81 cyclists) travelling southbound/westbound along Shacklewell Lane (which curves from south to west at the junction). The second greatest percentage came up St Mark's Rise and turned left into Shacklewell Lane (23%/30 cyclists). Cycle traffic along the other four ways of passing through the junction was negligible (7%/9, 7%/9, 2%/3, .75%/1 cyclist(s), respectively). The main problem with the junction has always been the left turn from Shacklewell Lane into St Mark's Rise, which is so smooth that it almost appears to be the main road at this point, and which is often negotiated by motorists at speed. Our count confirmed this problem in three ways:
Firstly, by statistical evidence of how many cyclists are affected by the deficient road layout at this point. At this left turn, the vast majority of cyclists (the above 61%/81 cyclists—who constituted 90% of those following Shacklewell Lane southbound; only 10% of cyclists (9) turned left into St Mark's Rise at this point) travelled straight on—that is, they followed the curve of Shacklewell Lane from north to west.
Secondly, by observation. A rough guesstimate of 60% of the cyclists going straight on had problems asserting their position on the road against cars coming up behind them. (Unfortunately, we did not keep a statistic on this phenomenon.) They were pushed too far to the left, and we saw one very close near miss (as well as several less close ones), in which a car cut in front of a cyclist to turn left, while the cyclist was going straight on. It was striking that many cyclists felt the need to signal by hand that they were going straight on/right, despite keeping to the main road. The vast majority of motorists turning left did not indicate they would do so, an observation confirmed by the regular cycle commuters we surveyed. The next time, we should perhaps keep an additional statistic on how many motorists indicate.
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Thirdly, by a survey we conducted with 23 cyclists (17%) who stopped and kindly gave us their views, as well as with some local residents. The unanimous nature of the opinions given was astonishing. Virtually all surveyees had had problems, many of them near misses, and all agreed that it was a dangerous junction. Only one out of 23, Sean McDougall, had had no problems as a cyclist. However, he had been involved in near misses as a pedestrian there. Other people's comments ranged from 'really bad' to 'ghastly' to 'a nightmare'. One cyclist, Colin Coxall, said: 'This is the most dangerous junction I am aware of. It will cause a very serious accident, if it hasn't already!' He echoed the call of others for Hackney Council to improve the situation. Karen Hamilton, a local resident, had passed details of many incidents to the police.
Other local residents who passed by appeared very worried about the junction.
We were surprised by several other observations made by commuters and residents. For instance, two people said that during the summer the grass on the central reservations had not been cut, so that it had grown so high as to obscure the view of motorists. Three cited the danger caused to cyclists by the quick narrowing of St Mark's Rise and motorists' typical speed upon coming off Shacklewell Lane. Sarah Clement, a resident of St Mark's Rise, called the place 'a death trap', describing how the narrowing of St Mark's Rise just after the junction meant that motorists from Shacklewell Lane typically entered it much too fast given the road conditions. Ellie Freedman recommended a stop sign be put into the inlet for the east turn into St Mark's Rise, to slow motorists down. All those questioned about it supported the aim of this campaign, a kerb build-out at the southbound entrance to St Mark's Rise.
After two hours, we reluctantly blowtorched our feet off the ground that they had frozen to and escaped to the warmth of a nearby caff to clarify our records. A big thank you to all who helped and to all who stopped!
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