London Assembly Liberal DemocratsCaroline Pidgeon and Stephen Knight Fighting for London |
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Why are blind and partially sighted people waiting 25 years for London’s pedestrian crossings to meet minimum national safety standards? - Caroline Pidgeon
Blind and partially sighted people in London will have to wait until March 2016 until every pedestrian crossing that is controlled by the Mayor of London finally meets long standing national safety standards to assist them in safely crossing the road.
Transport for London (which is chaired by the Mayor of London) recently confirmed to Caroline Pidgeon AM, Leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, that they were totally content to wait until March 2016 until every pedestrian crossing finally meets minimum safety standards first advocated by the Department of Transport as long ago as 1991.
Across London there are still over 130 pedestrian crossings which fail to provide the most basic safety and access requirements that are needed to assist blind and partially sighted people safely cross a road at a pedestrian crossing.
The long standing national safety standards set out that every pedestrian crossing should either have an audible sound and/or a rotating cone to assist blind and partially sighted people in safely crossing the road.
Commenting on the record of the Mayor and TfL on this issue Caroline Pidgeon AM, who is the Liberal Democrat London Assembly transport spokesperson said:
"Each and every TfL pedestrian crossing should be fully accessible for blind and partially sighted people. There is no reason at all why this shouldn't have been the case literally years ago.
"Time and time again the Mayor has been asked to ensure that London's pedestrian crossings are fully accessible for blind people. Sadly he has repeatedly failed to ensure that upgrading pedestrian crossings is a key priority and as a result we are in the shameful position that key junctions across London are still unsafe and inaccessible for many blind and partially sighted people.
"It is simply wrong that the Mayor and TfL believe it is acceptable to meet these vital safety standards at such a painfully slow pace. Blind and partially sighted people have been waiting long enough. They should not have to wait another 18 months for such basic safety standards to be finally met at pedestrian crossings across London."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- 1.The Department for Transport first set out guidance on pedestrian crossings having either an audible sound, and/or a rotating cone back in 1991:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/tal-4-91/tal-4-91.pdf Similar guidance was further issued by the Department of Transport in 1995:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publications/local-transport-notes/ltn-2-95.pdf
2. Caroline Pidgeon has repeatedly urged the Mayor to ensure that all TfL controlled pedestrian crossings meet these long standing safety guidance as quickly as possible. Details of past Mayoral Questions she has asked include:
http://questions.london.gov.uk/QuestionSearch/searchclient/questions/question_47845
http://questions.london.gov.uk/QuestionSearch/searchclient/questions/question_273977
http://questions.london.gov.uk/QuestionSearch/searchclient/questions/question_40365
3. In October 2010 a London Assembly Transport Committee report recommended that Transport for London pedestrian crossings should be fully compliant with Department of Transport safety guidance by December 2011. The Mayor decided to reject this modest recommendation. The practice of TfL has been to only bring pedestrian crossings up to national safety standards for blind people when crossings are being changed or updated in other areas.
4. In January 2014 RNIB gave evidence to the London Assembly Transport Committee stating that addressing as quickly as possible inaccessible pedestrian crossings for blind people was the number one priority for them in terms of ensuring pedestrian safety and access for blind people.
http://www.rnib.org.uk/cy/greater-london-authority-pedestrian-safety-enquiry
http://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/s33077/Minutes%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20Transcript.pdf (see pages 46 and 47 of the transcript)
5. The Mayor has been Chair of Transport for London since May 2008
6. Information on the importance of accessible pedestrian crossings can be seen here and in the enclosed briefing and in this BBC report:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-ouch-22706881
7. Details of pedestrian crossings which still fail to meet long standing Department of Transport safety guidance for access for blind people are set out in the enclosed correspondence provided by TfL.
Dear Caroline
Further to the Mayor's response to MQ 1307, I am writing to provide you with our programme of delivery for audible/tactile pedestrian crossings as requested. May I also take this opportunity to apologise for the delay in providing this information.
As you will note, there are now 137 sites awaiting upgrade, significantly lower than the figure given in the Mayor's response to MQ 1307, and this reflects the fact that further sites have been upgraded since March. This figure is correct as of 19 July 2014.
I am pleased to inform you we are still on schedule for 100 per cent compliancy with the DfT's guidelines by March 2016.
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