Cycling deaths last year led to protests Pic: Sam Catanzaro

Three road junctions in Hackney and Tower Hamlets are to be redesigned as part of a £300m city-wide scheme aiming to make cycling safer for Londoners.

The plan follows a spate of fatal cycling incidents on London’s roads late last year, during which cycling campaigners put extreme pressure on Boris Johnson to improve safety.

The £300m plan was accompanied by a map of the targeted intersections and included Bow Roundabout, the Apex Junction (part of the Shoreditch Triangle) and Old Street Roundabout.

The London Cycling Campaign was particularly critical of the London Mayor in the immediate aftermath of last year’s accidents, but today congratulated him on the plans.

LCC chief executive, Ashok Sinha said: “We congratulate the Mayor on this hugely welcome announcement. At last, we have a firm commitment, and the funding, to tackle the main barriers to cycling as identified by cyclists in the capital.”

“Rapid implementation of this programme will help reduce deaths and serious injuries to cyclists, as well make our roads safer for pedestrians too. We share the Mayor’s view that gyratories blight our capital and removing them will improve quality of life for all.”

2, Apex Junction. 6, Bow Roundabout. 18, Old Street Roundabout Pic: TfL

Co-ordinator for the Hackney Cycling Campaign, Trevor Parsons, said: “We have been talking to TfL and Hackney Council about both of these junctions (Apex Junction and Old Street Roundabout) for many years, so it’s good to see that they are now included in a funded programme.”

Old Street Roundabout is notoriously dangerous for cyclists, according to LCC, with the junction listed in the top three in London for accidents involving cyclists.

Parsons argues the roundabout as it is creates “a hostile environment for walking and cycling” and recommends a complete remodelling.

He added: “We think that it should be remodelled on a traditional crossroads layout. This would provide the best opportunities for active frontages, coherent connections, and human-scale streets.”

Despite the fact that Bow roundabout has been designed with the intention of protecting cyclists, it has been a danger-spot since 2011, when two people were killed there in three weeks.