The manager of a dental clinic recently smashed into by a car is calling for improvements to be made at the collision hotspot in Palmers Green, reports Kinga Plata

The junction of Powys Lane and the North Circular, with N13 Dental Clinic pictured on the left (credit Google)

The manager of a Palmers Green dental clinic which was smashed into by a car has spoken of his disappointment at Transport for London (TfL) for its “complete neglect” of road safety at the North Circular junction.

Mahmood Norouzi, business manager at N13 Dental Clinic on the corner of the North Circular and Powys Lane, is campaigning to make the junction safer for pedestrians and drivers alike. But he says he feels deeply let down by TfL.

Back in May, a car crashed into the clinic while trying to avoid a collision with another vehicle. Fortunately, the incident happened at night when no-one was inside the building. The driver only suffered minor injuries, and no arrests were made.

As Mahmood and his team have been located at the clinic for over 16 years, they say they witness many collisions at the junction and that it is not safe for road users or pedestrians.

Mahmood said: “But we’ve never witnessed something like this, for a car to go into a building before, which makes us very jittery and nervous. We feel unsafe where we are located.

“We have staff here, we have patients coming and going so we feel very unsafe the way it is.”

Mahmood wrote three lengthy emails to TfL inviting them to visit him at his clinic and see for themselves what residents and road users have to face at the junction. However, in response he got generic emails from a customer service team, saying the message would be “passed on” and that they were “looking into it”.

In response to the issues raised for this article, a TfL spokesperson has admitted the organisation was “currently prioritising other locations in London which have higher collision rates” but did agree to arrange a meeting with Mahmood.

The car remains imbedded in the dental practice — The aftermath of the car crash at N13 Dental Clinic in May (credit Kinga Plata)

While Mahmood recognises that TfL has done much to improve pedestrian safety on the North Circular over the years, he says they have ignored the junction with Powys Lane.

The main issue, he claims, is faulty traffic signalling. As Mahmood explained, drivers going towards Barnet and trying to turn into Powys Lane are often confused as traffic lights turn green for them and those coming from the opposite site, but they may not know about it.

There is also a bus lane, where a bus at a red light may obstruct the view for turning cars. He says this is how the collision that caused the damage to his clinic happened.

Mahmood said: “Seven or eight minutes before this incident, there was a woman, walking very gingerly and very slowly right across, and before that there were a couple of women standing, talking to each other, at that crossing. If that had happened just when they were there, there is no way on Earth they would have survived.”

However, what is the most shocking to Mahmood is the lack of interest from TfL on fixing these issues. He said: “They are neglecting the safety of pedestrians. They are neglecting the safety of our operation and our building. And it’s a complete neglect.

“It is inexcusable what they’re doing. And I am really angry at TfL because of the lack of care they have applied in this situation. They are waiting for more people to die before they will do anything about it.”

He added: “I invited them to come and discuss, to have a look at the issue. They haven’t even asked to see the video. Any responsible organisation would want to see and gather all the evidence, talk to all the people whose lives are affected by this. Our life is affected, our business is affected by this, because there is uncertainty, there is jitteriness.

“My receptionist could be sitting there and wondering ‘am I actually safe here?”

A TfL spokesperson said: “We use a data-led approach when making changes to roads to identify where we will have the biggest impact in reducing road danger. Given limited resources, we are currently prioritising other locations in London, which have higher collision rates, for major schemes to improve safety.

“We are however looking carefully into the issues raised and investigating whether other changes need to be made. We are always happy to discuss concerns or proposals and will arrange a meeting with Mr Norouzi and members of the local community once we have carried out this initial investigation.”

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