A North London woman refuses to use a rusty bridge full of holes over a railway track because she fears it’s unsafe.
The footbridge, which links Alperton to Wembley, is used by children and parents heading to nearby Elsley Primary School, in Tokyngton Avenue, as well as football fans who park up and walk across it to Wembley Stadium on match days.
Pictures show that the long pedestrian crossing, passing over both the main and local railway lines in Wembley, has holes where the metal has rusted, trip hazards, and gaps in the steps to the tracks below.
Residents claim they have been highlighting the dangers of the bridge to Network Rail since 2018 but so far nothing has been done.
Kay Carroll, said: “I have refused to walk over it for years. I just don’t feel safe. I worry that somebody is going to get seriously hurt and I certainly wouldn’t send any of my relatives or friends to walk over it, let alone children.”
She added: “The main issue for residents is the structural condition of the bridge and whether it is actually safe. There’s no lighting or mirrors so when you walk up it is just full of blind corners.
“It needs the repairs done, the holes filled in, the gaps in between the stairs filled, cleaned, tidied, and painted.
"It’s a public footpath in Brent so ultimately it needs to be maintained properly.”
When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) visited the site, they saw the deterioration of the bridge, as well as large amounts of litter that had been discarded at the scene.
On either side of the railing, piles of rubbish including beer cans, portable heaters, umbrellas, and bags of children’s toys covered the ground.
Alperton councillor Anton Georgiou (LibDem), said he was first made aware of the bridge by local residents in 2020.
He described the bridge as “in a really bad way” and wrote to Network Rail to request them to engage closer with locals about the state of the bridge.
“I am very concerned about residents who are using it, particularly at night time. I am worried about whether the structure itself is safe, I personally wouldn’t use it,” he said.
“There are holes in the side of the bridge, it’s rusted, and the steps are sometimes uneven. I am just not confident that this bridge is secure and I fear for residents that do use it on a daily basis.”
He is calling for more to be done to make sure pedestrians feel safe when they are walking across and pointed to a lack of lighting, no CCTV, and no mirrors, causing it to be particularly treacherous in the dark.
Cllr Georgiou said that he has spoken to the police who allegedly said that the bridge is used by criminals who committed crimes on one side to quickly escape across it.
“There are people gathering, like drinkers and drug takers who use the bridge as well, and you don’t know what’s around the corner. It’s very dangerous,” he added.
“If it were in a good state, it would be an excellent way of getting from Lyon Park Avenue to Wembley High Road, rather than going the long way around.
"All the different stakeholders need to get together and work out how to make this bridge safe for residents because at the moment it isn’t.”
A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “This bridge undergoes annual inspections. The latest inspection confirmed it is structurally sound. Maintenance activity took place including repair work to steps last week. The local council would need to be contacted regarding requests for lighting or CCTV.”
A Brent Council spokesperson said: “This is not in the council’s remit. Network Rail owns and manages the bridge so would therefore be responsible for installing lighting and CCTV.”
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