Islington residents and councillors have been left “gobsmacked” at the apparent cost of installing a new zebra crossing in the borough. At a council meeting last week, the council’s Cabinet Member for Finance faced a grilling over the price tag attached to a new pedestrian crossing on Thorpedale Road in Finsbury Park. The £100,000 cost was cited by Green councillor Jonathan Ward after locals obtained the figures through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) though the council actually says it was £131,000 and included other upgrades.
Residents' shock at the cost
“We have a pedestrian crossing that arrives in a quiet street that costs £100,000. Residents were absolutely gobsmacked. It’s not a busy road,” Cllr Ward said. The figure also surprised the council’s finance chief, Cllr Paul Convery (Labour), who said similar crossings elsewhere in Islington had cost roughly £15,000. “I am startled,” he said, but speculated there were hidden costs “lurking in the background”.
Scope of the project
The crossing was reportedly put in after residents raised concerns over the road being used as a cut-through for fast-moving traffic, presenting a risk to children and young people on their way to school. The council has since confirmed that the total spend was in fact £131,000, but encompassed the entire street safety project which delivered “much more” than the crossing. “We widened pavements, carried out drainage improvements, installed a raised crossing to help reduce vehicle speeds, upgraded street lighting and Belisha beacons, and added high-friction surfacing on the approach to the crossing,” said Cllr Rowena Champion, Executive Member for Climate, Environment and Transport.
Broader efficiency concerns
But the scope of the project failed to soothe broader criticisms around efficiency. “We’ve got hundreds of places like this across Islington. Can we afford to spend £131,000 each time? It’s good that there’s a facility for people to cross the road safely but it would have been cheaper to put some plants in, rather than a new pavement,” Cllr Ward told the LDRS. “We just want to make sure there’s imagination and value for money in public works.”
The latest debate over procurement marks the second time in recent weeks that the council has discussed the surprising cost of delivering public amenities. In June, councillors shared their alarm that the council had been quoted £192,000 to install a self-cleaning toilet, including installation.
