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  "path": "/2026/05/22/this-londons-nightmarish-crossing-went-find-28464064/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-22T05:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
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  "textContent": "To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\nA man stuck out his thumb pleading with the traffic to let him cross, not at the side of a dusty highway, but at a cycle lane’s pedestrian crossing.\n\nThe crossing, outside of Blackfriars Station in central London, has been nicknamed by locals as ‘the nightmare’, while others have warned it’s an accident waiting to happen.\n\nIt sits over a two-way cycle lane as part of a controversial floating bus stop, the design of which has been frequently criticised.\n\nAnd when Metro went down to the crossing during rush hour on Wednesday evening, it is easy to see why.\n\nCyclists frequently do not stop for pedestrians trying to use the crossing, meaning they have no choice but to make a mad dash across the lane.\n\nIn total, we counted 60 failed attempts to cross safely in little more than an hour.\n\nIndie, from Kent, grimaced as she ran across the crossing once an eventual gap appeared.\n\nCyclists pass over the pedestrian crossing opposite Blackfriars Station (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams)\n\nA man sticks out his thumb asking for cyclists to stop for him (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams)\n\n##  What is a floating bus stop?\n\nA floating bus stop has a cycle lane between the stop and the pavement behind it.\n\nThis places the stop on an island between the cycleway and traffic.\n\nThe London Assembly said this ensures passengers alight from a bus directly onto a bus stop island and never directly onto a cycle track or road with oncoming traffic.\n\nThey were first introduced in London in 2013 so cyclists were not stuck behind buses and were less at risk of being injured or killed.\n\nWhen we stopped to ask her how she found it, her eyes rolled.\n\n‘Well you have just seen my face,’ she said. ‘I have never seen a crossing like this before, and it is so fast.’\n\nNo one is spared from having to make the risky move across. Approaching a man waiting at the bus stop after making the mad dash revealed Baron Richard Newby, OBE.\n\n##  Latest London news\n\n  * How gangs are targeting Londoners on nights out by drugging and robbing them\n  * I went to Magnolia Bakery in the UK — one item is worth the hype\n  * New Tube strike dates announced after May walkout cancelled at 11th hour\n\n\n\n_**To get the latest news from the capital, visit Metro's** London news hub._\n\nHe told Metro: ‘We have debated these in the House of Lords before, but this is my first time using one. Now I can fully see why there are safety fears.’\n\n## ‘It is absolutely terrifying’\n\nLast year the Upper Chamber narrowly failed to pass an amendment which would have prevented any more floating bus stops from being installed.\n\nThis is despite campaigners furiously pushing for the risks posed to blind people to be recognised.\n\nRichard Mark Newby, Liberal Democrat leader in the Lords was waiting at the bus stop after using the crossing (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams)\n\nMetro went to see the crossing during rush hour on Wednesday evening (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams)\n\nKasia Kubasek, who is a blind bus user in London, told Metro: ‘It is absolutely terrifying. I cannot see or hear the bicycles.\n\n‘Even the thought of having to cross a cycle lane to get to the bus stop, fills me with a fear that paralyses me and I avoid them like fire.’\n\nFloating bus stops were brought in for the safety of cyclists, who can prevent being stuck behind buses with the design.\n\nCycling groups have said they are key to reducing road danger, but there are some concerns those on bikes are not given enough warning about the crossing.\n\n## ‘There’s little chance to break’\n\nOne woman waiting at the bus stop confirmed she uses it multiple times a week and her workplace adjacent to the crossing, has made multiple complaints to the City of London about it.\n\nBut she told Metro ‘it wasn’t the cyclists’ fault’ as there is little opportunity for them to break in time.\n\nWith a red light sat only metres away, many also resort to stopping and waiting on the crossing.\n\nMetro’s Jed Bradley did a few laps of the lane with a GoPro attached, and concluded ‘it would be much safer if there was a sign further back telling cyclists to prepare for the crossing’.\n\nThe crossing, outside of Blackfriars Station in central London, has been nicknamed by locals as ‘the nightmare’ (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams)\n\n## Work on cycleway given go-ahead\n\nIn July Transport for London paused the installation of floating bus stops, and work on the cycle lane between Blackfriars and Aldgate was halted.\n\nBut last week it was given the green light to go ahead. Update guidance was published this year, and corporation officers concluded the Blackfriars designs met the ‘recommended process’.\n\nSergeant Stuart Ford, Cycle Team lead at the City of London Police, said: ‘Running a red light or going through zebra crossing in use puts pedestrians, especially vulnerable ones, at risk.\n\n‘Cyclists gamble on the fact that pedestrians will move out the way, ignoring any hidden vulnerabilities.\n\nIn total, we counted 60 failed attempts to cross safely in little more than an hour (Picture: Justin Griffiths-Williams)\n\n‘The Blackfriars zebra crossing has been highlighted by National Federation of the Blind (NFBUK) and we’re working with the Corporation of London and Transport for London to ensure the safety of pedestrians who are using the crossing.’\n\nA City of London Corporation Spokesperson said: ‘We are taking the issue of accessibility extremely seriously and will ensure the City’s streets are safe and usable for everyone, as is the priority in all of our schemes.\n\n‘The Aldgate to Blackfriars cycleway has been subject to a full Equalities Impact Assessment , with input from a diverse range of charities.\n\n‘The proposals are also in line with DfT’s statutory guidance on bus stop bypasses. We will continue to engage constructively with accessibility groups as the designs develop.’\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,** check our news page.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Is this London’s most ‘nightmarish’ crossing? We went to find out"
}