Accidents waiting to happen

Published: 7 October, 2010

• WHY is it residents’ safety concerns fell on deaf ears with both Liberal Democrat councillors within the Haverstock ward and that of the Gospel Oak District Housing Office? 

Many residents of Aspen House, Maitland Park, raised serious concerns about additional traffic entering their estate to visit the Maitland Park Gymnasium, sometimes at speed.

Despite lobbying the local councillors and DHO for over two years nothing was done to restrict vehicle access or improve resident pedestrian safety within this estate, basically the pleas of the residents to stop the influx of gymnasium motorists frequenting the estate at speed was ignored, the residents predicted an accident waiting to happen.

On Saturday October 2 at about 7pm the residents’ worst nightmare became reality a motorist visiting the gymnasium entered the estate and was in involved in an accident with a five-year-old child from Aspen House, who was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Where was Camden’s and councillors’ “duty of care” towards the safety of its residents, a simple solution would have been to act on residents’ concerns and close the gate to ensure their safety. They chose to ignore residents’ pleas and washed them aside like second-class citizens.

This incident should never have happened. The councillors representing this community should be feeling extremely grateful that this accident was not a fatality. But it will only be a matter of time while this gate remains open. Shame on you! 
T Wiggett
Chair of Gospel Oak District Management Committee