Is this Sutton’s most pointless set of traffic lights?

The lights are situated in Park Lane, Wallington at the junction with Ruskin Road and control five directions but do not have a green man indicating when to cross.

The Sutton Guardian did some basic tests at peak times and it took as long as five minutes or more to negotiate the crossing safely.

Neil Garrett, of Marchmont Road, said: “Since the most recent changes, the traffic lights at the junction provide no time for pedestrians to cross.

“The lights are arranged so there is at least one stream of traffic moving through and while this is very efficient for cars, it means there is no time at all for pedestrians to cross safely. It is clearly dangerous and totally unsatisfactory.”

The alternative for pedestrians is to walk more than 500m up either end of Park Lane, to the nearest safe crossing.

One pedestrian Josie Tointon, from Park Lane, said: “It is even worse during rush hour when there seems to be a constant flow of vehicles. This is the exact time when groups of kids are walking to school.

“I do not know how the authorities expect the elderly or mums with prams, or shopping, to know when to cross or get across in time. It is OK if you are young and fit because you can nip across.”

The stretch of road is run by Transport for London (TfL) but standard procedure is for the local authority to submit a request for any changes.

Darren Richards, head transportation at Sutton Council said: “TfL recently modernised the traffic lights at the junction between Park Lane and Ruskin Road.

“We have listened to residents who told us that it has become more difficult to cross the road since the changes were made and asked TfL to adjust the timings to give pedestrians greater priority.

“We are monitoring the issue and if the problems persist we will work with TfL to look into other options as the safety of residents is our greatest priority.”