Last year the City of London Corporation voted to approve the ‘Bank on Safety’ scheme making changes at Bank permanent. Vehicle access to Bank junction will be restricted to buses, cycles and pedestrians only, Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm.
The Court of Common Council (the City’s local authority meeting) made the decision after months of scrutiny by a range of committees. With over 4,200 responses to an extensive public consultation, the needs of local road users and other stakeholders were considered along with the operational needs of the Square Mile. Importantly 75% of respondents indicated they supported or generally supported the scheme.
We fully support the decision to make the scheme permanent. The previous position was unacceptable and dangerous. The trial has been successful, with initial indicators showing a noticeable reduction in casualties and incidents at the junction, no major effects on traffic flows in other parts of the City, whilst improving journey times for bus users.
Cycling and pedestrian safety
Both the London Cycling Campaign and Living Streets (supporting pedestrians) have welcomed the decision to make the traffic restrictions at Bank permanent. The vast majority of people using Bank Junction and surrounding streets in the Ward of Cheap at peak times are on foot.
As your local team we are increasingly getting more people raising concerns about the behaviour of some cyclists. Indeed it is worrying that 8 out of the 11 incidents at Bank Junction during the trial were due to cycle / pedestrian collisions.
Your Ward of Cheap Team 