London Assembly calls on the Mayor to make all junction crossings safe

The Mayor’s Vision Zero strategy aims to create streets safe for pedestrians with slower traffic, better junction designs and improved vehicle safety.

Pavements in the city usually have dropped kerbs and special paving to make crossing the road easier.

Yet some road junctions in London do not prioritise pedestrians in London. It is estimated there are 261 junctions in the capital that have no pedestrian-safe crossings.

The London Assembly has today called on the Mayor to review junctions where no priority is given to people walking, and to develop a plan to ensure that every junction that has signals to control motor traffic and signal protected pedestrian crossings on every arm by 2030.

Caroline Russell AM, who proposed the motion, said:



"In 2021 it is not right that we still have junctions all over London with signals for motor traffic but no time for people to cross the road safely.

"Too many of our roads are hostile to people getting around on foot, especially children, older and disabled people and far too many people are being killed and seriously injured each year simply trying to cross the road.

"Campaigners have been calling for action on these crossings for decades. I first campaigned about one of these junctions on Holloway Rd in 2004 and it is still not fixed.

"This is why I’m so glad that the Assembly passed my motion today, showing that politicians across London want the Mayor to make a plan to fix these lethal junctions by 2030 providing dropped kerbs, tactile paving and most importantly time in the signal phasing for people to cross the road safely.”

The full text of the amended motion is:

“This Assembly notes that 1,282 people were seriously injured while walking on or next to London’s roads in 2019, and tragically 68 people who were simply out walking were killed. Of these avoidable deaths, at least 44 people were killed while crossing the road.

The provisional figures for 2020 show that 95 people were killed on London’s roads, of whom 44 were people walking.

This Assembly notes that 261 signalised junctions in London only have signals for motor traffic, and not for people to cross these roads.

We further note that the Mayor’s interim Vision Zero target is for 70 per cent fewer people to be killed or seriously injured against 2010-14 levels by 2030.

This Assembly therefore calls on the Mayor to review those junctions where no priority is given to people walking and where there is the potential to introduce safety features like dropped kerbs and tactile paving as part of his Vision Zero work.

This Assembly asks the Mayor to use this junction review to work with local councils to develop a plan to ensure that every junction that has signals to control motor traffic, also has signal protected pedestrian crossings on every arm by 2030.”