A cycle superhighway introduced by Boris Johnson in his time as mayor has been named as the most dangerous place in London for cyclists for the third successive year.
It came as family and friends of some of the Londoners killed cycling in the last decade spoke of their ongoing trauma and loss as they told of the devastation caused by road deaths.
The Upper Tooting Road section of the CS7 blue-painted route, which is largely unsegregated from vehicles, has repeatedly been highlighted by the London Cycling Campaign as a risk to cyclists and pedestrians.
This is because of the number of “rat running” motorists who cut across the cycleway, in particular at the junctions with Ansell Road, Lessingham Avenue and Derinton Road. An average of two cyclists a year are seriously injured and four report minor injuries.
London Cycling Campaign's top 10 most dangerous junctions
• Cycle Superhighway CS7 'cluster' Upper Tooting Road, Wandsworth (around Ansell Road, Derinton Road, Lessingham Avenue)
• Great Eastern Street & Curtain Road, Hackney
• Cycle Superhighway CS7 Clapham High Street & Gauden Road, Lambeth
• Knightsbridge & Sloane Street & Albert Gate, Kensington & Chelsea/ Westminster
• Cycleway C9 King Street & Weltje Road, Hammersmith & Fulham
• Clerkenwell Road & Farrindgon Road, Camden/ Islington
• Southampton Row & Theobald's Road (Holborn), Camden
• Cycle Superhighway CS7 Balham High Road & Ramsden Road, Wandsworth
• West Hill & Lytton Grove, Wandsworth
• Cycleway C6 Royal College Street & Baynes Street, Camden
Cyclists using CS7 also face further danger further north at the junction of Clapham High Street and Gauden Road and at the junction of Balham High Road and Ramsden Road, according to LCC.
CS7 was one of the first cycle superhighways introduced by Mr Johnson a decade ago as part of his “cycling revolution”.
Under Sir Sadiq Khan’s mayoralty, Transport for London has dropped the “cycle superhighway” brand and focuses on cycleways often through more residential areas but which tend to be segregated on busier roads.
LCC, which analysed five years of road collision data, named the Great Eastern Street/ Curtain Road junction in Shoreditch as the second most dangerous.
TfL has announced changes to the area but LCC doubts that they go far enough.
The Cycleway C9 junction of King Street and Weltje Road in Hammersmith is a new entry at number five on the list, due to a “clear pattern of serious collisions” from a rat-run from the A4, according to LCC.
Also new to the top 10, in sixth place, is the Farringdon Road/ Clerkenwell Road junction where LSE PhD student Cheistha Kochhar was killed in March 2024.
The West Hill junction in Putney where Dean Jones was killed in November 2024 is in ninth place.
LCC campaigners say that it was only a matter of time when fatalities would occur in both locations.
Noor Ali, the sister of Shatha Ali, who was killed cycling at Holborn in 2022, said: “Shatha's passing has left an immeasurable void in our lives, and we continue to grieve for the light that was taken away from us too soon.
“Shatha was full of kindness, laughter and compassion. She brought joy wherever she went, and her presence had a way of brightening the darkest of days. Whether it was through her infectious laugh, her generosity of spirit, or her quiet acts of care, she touched the lives of everyone who knew her.
“Shatha was the ninth cyclist to die at the Holborn gyratory since 2008, and we are passionate to ensure that she is the last. We need our city to be safe for all cyclists, so that no friends or family experience the same heartbreak that we live with daily.”
Carol Sebben, a close friend of Matheus Piovesan, who was killed cycling at Cable Street in 2024, said: “Matheus’s presence in our lives was a light of incredible strength, he had a love to give that transcended everything. His presence is deeply missed by everyone whose life he touched.”
His friends and Critical Mass campaigners had to fight to install a second “ghost bike” near the spot he was killed after the first one was removed by Tower Hamlets council.
“Now, we need action from the police — we want to understand what caused this tragedy and see justice served,” Ms Sebben said.
Tom Fyans, chief executive of London Cycling Campaign, said: “All too often the friends and family of those killed at a notorious collision hot spot face a shrug of the shoulders from TfL, the police and our local councils.
“We shouldn’t have to keep demanding action, protesting, wrestling change from uncaring authorities after yet another cycling fatality.
“The Mayor of London has committed to ending serious collisions on our roads. It’s time for him to take far bolder measures to do so.”
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