TfL upgrades traffic signals at Kew bridge to improve accessibility for all
A major junction in Kew bridge has been upgraded to improve facilities for visually impaired pedestrians as part of Transport for London’s (TfL’s) ongoing work to improve accessibility for all road users across London.
Following concerns by the Thomas Pocklington Trust and the London Visual Impairment Forum about the junction, which has nine pedestrian crossing points and is located close to the Trust's offices, TfL has worked since Summer 2012 to implement a solution which would allow the junction to be more accessible to blind and visually impaired people. This included relocating street lights and traffic poles around the junctions to make it easier to access the crossings, and installing tactile rotating cones to the signals underneath the wait light indicators to assist visually impaired people crossing at this location.
In order to install the tactile cones, TfL engineers had to design and build a bespoke traffic signal system for the junction, in doing so, have been able to deliver this scheme swiftly, with minimum disruption to local businesses and residents.
Alan Bristow, Director of Traffic Directorate at TfL said: “We are very pleased that we have been able to upgrade these pedestrian crossing points to allow them to be fully accessible for all. We continue to work across London to upgrade and improve traffic signals where possible, with a clear aim to deliver any improvements that improve accessibility as quickly as possible.”
Peter Corbett, Chief Executive of the Thomas Pocklington Trust said: The work carried out by TfL has hugely improved these pedestrian crossing points for visually impaired people, and helped make the streets of Kew bridge much more accessible.”
Around 97 per cent of signalised pedestrian crossings across Hounslow now have audible guidance and /or tactile rotating cones to assist blind or visually impaired pedestrians and TfL is working to upgrade the remaining four locations as quickly as possible, with a target to have all traffic signals across London fully accessible by 2016.
Further work will be carried out at this location in the coming years as part of TfL’s wider Cycle Superhighway programme, which will look to address additional local concerns about the design of the junctions by the end of 2014.
For more details about the Mayor’s and TfL’s ongoing work to improve accessibility across London , please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/mobility
January 3, 2013