TfL has admitted, when questioned by the London Assembly Transport Committee, that no systematic analysis had been undertaken of before and after collision rates at the 568 sites where pedestrian green man time has been reduced.
In 2012, 69 pedestrians were fatally injured on London’s roads, compared with 58 in 2010. In the same period, the total number of pedestrian KSI’s (killed and seriously injured) increased by 23% [1]. Pedestrian casualties accounted for 37 per cent of all serious injuries and 51 per cent of all fatalities on London’s roads in 2012.
Chair of the Transport Committee Valerie Shawcross said:
“The recent increase in pedestrian deaths and serious injuries on London's streets is a cause of great concern. It reverses more than a decade of improved casualty rates and we would expect TfL to be taking a proactive approach to building an evidence base to explain this worrying trend".
Campaign groups[2] invited to give their views at the meeting suggested people felt rushed at pedestrian crossings and, as a result, some pedestrians were discouraged from walking in the capital.
The Transport Committee has suggested that TfL supply them with current data as soon as possible for a more accurate picture of pedestrian safety issues in London.
Notes for Editors:
1. TfL Surface Transport Casualties in Greater London factsheets 2002- 2012
2. Living Streets submission to pedestrian safety (attached)
3. List of all traffic signal junctions where pedestrian phase minimum green time has been reduced to 6 seconds (attached)
4. London Assembly Transport Committee
5. Link to Transport Committee meeting webcast
6. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.