Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy has written to the Mayor of London, Lord Sadiq Khan, urging him to intervene over safety at Walthamstow bus station, which she says residents believe is unsafe because of the way it is laid out.
The letter follows an incident earlier this week in which a person was seriously injured at the station. Bus drivers were due to meet on Thursday to discuss the safety situation.
Creasy told the Mayor she had been raising concerns about the bus station for more than a year. "I know that you are committed to improving the safety and comfort of all those who use public transport in London, and will recognize residents in Walthamstow have understandably been shaken by these incidents," she wrote. "Their correspondence to my office in the last week, and in the light of the most recent incident, has again raised concerns with me that the bus station is unsafe because of the layout."
Transport for London is already facing a criminal prosecution over alleged safety failures at the station. The Health and Safety Executive has accused TfL of breaking the law over the course of 20 years there, alleging that between 1st January 2004 and 15th December 2023 the organisation "failed to ensure that traffic routes, specifically at the northern crossing at Walthamstow bus station, were suitable for persons and vehicles using them".
The charge follows the death in December 2023 of 74-year-old retired nurse Grace Mecaley, who was fatally injured when she was struck by a route 212 double decker bus at the station.
In her letter, Creasy set out the measures she had previously been told about: a camera installed to monitor "pedestrian and driver behaviour" on the southern side, a sensor to collate "near misses", and steps taken "as a priority" to explore extending a pedestrian guardrail. TfL had also said it was working with Waltham Forest Council on safety concerns relating to the Selborne Road side of the station. She asked the Mayor to update her on those safety measures.
Responding to the intervention, TfL's director of buses Lorna Murphy said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Grace Mecaley. Every death on the transport network is devastating, and we're determined to end the trauma caused by loss of life and injury. We're committed to ensuring our bus stations are safe and our comprehensive safety programme continues to drive improvements, including changes to infrastructure, increased monitoring and close working with operators to ensure compliance with the rules at bus stations."
She added that works were completed in December 2024 to "permanently improve pedestrian safety" at the station.
