Success as Mayor of London agrees to “pause” installation of new Colourful Crossings
The Mayor of London has today written to Transport for All, committing to “pause” the installation of colourful crossings, following our cross-sector campaign in September.
Transport for All bought together 7 disability organisations to write an open letter to Sadiq Khan, outlining safety and accessibility concerns with Colourful Crossings.
Colourful Crossings, where the pedestrian crossing point on the road is painted over with brightly coloured – often abstract – artistic designs, are increasingly being implemented across the UK.
The letter set out our concerns on the scope and scale of meaningful engagement that had been undertaken with disabled people, and the extent to which that engagement had impacted on the decision to go ahead with the schemes. We also explained some of the impacts that the crossings have on disabled people.
In his response to our letter, the Mayor of London told us he is concerned to read of the issues we highlighted, and he committed to asking Transport for London (TfL) to introduce a temporary pause on installing any new colourful crossings on its network. He also promised that TfL will advise boroughs to do the same for roads that are not owned by TfL.
Looking ahead, the Mayor tells us that TfL plans to develop new guidance on the use of artwork at crossings in London, and promises that meaningful engagement with disability organisations will be a part of this process.
Katie Pennick, Campaigns Lead at Transport for All, said:
“We welcome this response from the Mayor and I am glad our concerns have been listened to and, more importantly, acted upon. This situation has been a perfect demonstration of the importance of involving disabled people at an early stage, otherwise the results can be inaccessible and exclusionary. We hope that local authorities and transport providers across the UK will follow London in pausing the rollout of Colourful Crossings. Transport for All looks forward to working with TfL to produce this guidance.”
Transport for All would like to thank everyone who supported our campaign, through amplifying our message and sharing your own examples of impacts. A particular big thank you to the 7 organisations who contributed to and supported the letter.
You can read the full response from the Mayor here.
