Locals fear living on ‘UK’s most dangerous road’ after ‘weekend of carnage’ with THREE major crashes
FURIOUS residents say they fear living on the “UK’s most dangerous road” following three crashes in one weekend.
Locals in Verdant Lane, Catford, are calling for action from the council after countless crashes, daily traffic and pollution that you can “taste”.
In a “weekend of carnage” at the end of September the busy southeast London road saw three significant crashes.
The first was on Saturday, September 28, when a BMW lost control at the junction with the A205 South Circular Road and crashed into a fireplace shop.
The following day a Mercedes collided with a bollard on the pavement after illegally cutting through an accessway to avoid Verdant Lane traffic.
Then on the Monday a woman drunkenly crashed a stolen Tesla into the front of a home belonging to an elderly woman who had recently passed away.
The driver has since pleaded guilty to criminal offences.
Locals say high volumes of traffic funnelled onto Verdant Lane causes significant queues twice a day often leading to frustrated drivers being reckless.
Gary Nolan, 37, who has lived on the road for three years, said: “It’s only a matter of time before a pedestrian or cyclist is killed given the volume of traffic and reckless driving in the locality.
“Traffic offences are a daily occurrence and that weekend’s carnage is unsurprising but also unacceptable.
“The council’s inaction has been tremendously frustrating.”
William Bloomfield, 36, a Verdant Lane resident of five years, said: “We’re a residential road, classified as a C-road, but we get more traffic than some A-roads.
“If I need to drive to work I can expect to spend about 25 minutes getting to the end of my road.”
Residents say there is a feeling of lawlessness not helped by chaotic junctions such as with the A205 South Circular Road.
They are calling on Lewisham Council to take action to reduce the traffic volume on Verdant Lane and to improve junction safety.
Anna Rieser, 33, who moved to Verdant Lane three years ago, said she regularly sees school children involved in near misses as they try to cross the road, which lacks safe crossing points.
Lewisham Council's statement
A spokesperson for Lewisham Council said: “Lewisham Council is actively working with local community groups to address traffic issues on Verdant Lane.
“We are conducting traffic surveys to assess vehicle volumes and speeds and are working with TfL to understand their input on potential changes to the road layout at the Verdant Lane junction and A205 South Circular.
“Through regular meetings with residents, we are keeping the community informed of our actions and are assessing requests for additional pedestrian crossings in the area.
“We remain committed to working alongside TfL and the Department of Transport to enhance road safety and raise awareness of driver impairment, especially during peak times.”
Another issue causing residents concern is the level of pollution.
Mr Bloomfield said: “We have a lot of young families living here, I have a young child myself.
“The sheer amount of pollution you get from the queuing traffic which forms for two hours each day is really concerning.”
Nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, who was the first person in the UK to have air pollution recognised as a factor in her death, lived nearby.
It’s only a matter of time before a pedestrian or cyclist is killed.
Gary Nolan
In 2013 she died following an asthma attack and an inquest later found pollution from the A205 South Circular Road “made a material contribution” to her death.
Ms Rieser, who has a one-year old baby, said: “It’s a lovely street and we moved here during Covid when it was quiet.
“Now I never walk down my own road because I’m worried what that pollution is going to do to young lungs, I go down side streets instead.
“I know we live in London but this level of pollution isn’t normal, I can literally taste it in the air.”
Mr Nolan added: “I repainted my window seals in August and there’s already a thick layer of dust from engine fumes covering them.
“Seeing that really makes me worry about what I’m breathing in.”
'Long and painful journey' to official apology
THE mother of a girl who died from a pollution-linked asthma attack has vowed to continue the fight for clean air as she accepted a Government apology over her daughter’s death.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah said it had been an “incredibly long and painful journey” to the point where she received an official acknowledgement of what happened to her daughter and put air pollution on the map as a public health crisis.
Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, a nine-year-old from south-east London, suffered a fatal asthma attack in February 2013 after being exposed to excessive air pollution.
In a landmark coroner’s case in 2020, Ella – who had lived 25 metres from the busy South Circular Road in Lewisham – became first person to have air pollution listed as a cause of death at an inquest in the UK.
Ella’s estate, over which Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah acts as administrator, sued the Environment Department (Defra), the Department for Transport and the Department of Health and Social Care for compensation over her “illness and premature death”.
The three Government departments have settled the claim brought by law firm Hodge Jones & Allen for an undisclosed sum, and issued a statement telling Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah “we are truly sorry for your loss” and that no child should have to suffer as Ella did.
Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah and Ella’s siblings, 17-year-old twins Robert and Sophia, had a meeting with environment minister Emma Hardy at the Defra offices in London on Thursday as part of the settlement.
Speaking afterwards, Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah said it was a “bittersweet” moment to receive the Government apology.
She said: “We’ve got an apology from the mayor, we’ve got an apology from the Government. It’s never going to bring Ella back. We’re heading to Christmas, it’s always a hard time.
“But I think for the general public, this matters: air pollution is an invisible killer, and this does help bringing it to light.
“Although this isn’t going to bring Ella back, we finally accept this is acknowledgement of what happened to her, and to put the issue of air pollution firmly on the map, that it’s a public health crisis, when we look at the NHS, and something needs to be done about it.
“Today it is finally over, but I am going to continue, and I have been reassured by the Government that they’re going to be continuing to work with me to clean up the air.”