WORK to replace confusing and “dangerous” traffic lights at a busy road junction will be completed within weeks, Transport for London (TfL) has said.
For the last few weeks, permanent lights for traffic and for pedestrians have not been working at the junction of Hoe Street and Selborne Walk, in Walthamstow.
Temporary lights have been put in place until works are completed.
Several Guardian readers have complained that the absence of permanent lights has led to confusion for both pedestrians and motorists.
For traffic turning left from Hoe Street into Selborne Walk, one traffic light is partially obscured and the other has been turned away from traffic to face pedestrians crossing from the bus station side of Selborne Walk.
This means some motorists only see the covered permanent lights and assume there are no lights, and drive straight on.
Pedestrians crossing Selborne Walk north from the railway station have no lights whatsoever to guide them as to whether they can cross or not, while those crossing in the other direction are faced with the lights intended for the traffic, so green means “stop” and red means “go”.
The net result is pedestrians are crossing the road, unaware that motorists are likely to fly around the bend.
A TfL spokesman said: “TfL takes the safety of all road users extremely seriously and is monitoring this site to ensure that all temporary signals remain in the correct position.”
He said the work will be completed by October 2009, although an exact date has not been given.
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