’Zero-tolerance’ on A-boards welcomed by disabled people
Transport for All
Transport for London has named 18 areas across London as ‘zero tolerance’ for A-boards, following a successful pilot in three areas...
Transport for London has named 18 areas across London as ‘zero tolerance’ for A-boards, following a successful pilot in three areas.
TfL have stated that ‘prosecution will remain the last resort and TfL will continue with the current practice using the statutory process in the 2003 Act of issuing removal notices, after which the ‘A’ Boards are removed and kept until the business owners pay a fee and retrieve their ‘A’ Board.’
Advertising boards, or A-boards, are an everyday bane for disabled people. Cory Sharp, a visually impaired member who lives in Whitechapel, said:
“They’re a nightmare. You have to go round them, and the whole time you’re worrying that they’re going to send you into the road, or veering into something else. I manage it somehow, but I’ve come close to tripping over. Hopefully, the expansion of zero-tolerance for A-boards means that disabled people will find it easier to get our destination without obstacles in the way.“
Enforcing clear footways
Street clutter is not just a problem for visually impaired people, but a problem for wheelchair users, scooter users, buggy users and older people too. Transport for All welcome this ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to businesses which repeatedly flout rules on keeping the pavement clear. Not everyone can step down into the road to bypass an A-board or other obstacle.
The areas were named at the TfL Surface Transport Panel on 11th Feb, chaired by former Paralympian Tanni Grey Thompson. London Travelwatch has long campaigned for this, and reminded councils and TfL that it is an offence under the 1980 Highways Act to ‘wilfully obstruct a highway’ Transport for All called for action on street clutter in our Mayoral Manifesto in 2012. The 18 areas selected as ‘zero-tolerance’ by TfL are Red Routes, also known as TLRN roads (TfL Road Network roads); but we would like to see councils follow TfL’s example and take a much tougher approach to enforcing clear footways. The more A-boards are cleared from pavements, the more disabled and older people will be able to use their local high street with the same freedom and independence as everyone else.
You can read the paper in which TfL sets out their proposal relating to A-boards here. The areas where a zero-tolerance policy applies to A-boards are named below.
- Are you fed up of having to weave your way around street clutter? Had enough of bumping up against A-boards? London Travelwatch is interested in speaking to anyone who is keen to take action against obstacles on their local pavements using the councils complaints process. If this is of interest, please email lianna [at] transportforall.org.uk and we will put you in touch.
| Zero Tolerance Locations | Borough |
|---|---|
| Camden High Street | Camden |
| Finchley Road | Camden |
| Bishopsgate / Gracechurch Street | City of London |
| Kingsland High Street | Hackney |
| Stoke Newington High Street | Hackney |
| Holloway Road / Seven Sisters Road | Islington |
| Upper Street | Islington |
| Brompton Road | Kensington and Chelsea |
| Earls Court Road | Kensington and Chelsea |
| Clapham High Street | Lambeth |
| Peckham High Street | Southwark |
| Tooley Street / Borough High Street | Southwark |
| Whitechapel Road | Tower Hamlets |
| Balham High Road | Wandsworth |
| Tooting High Street | Wandsworth |
| Wandsworth High Street | Wandsworth |
| High Street Colliers Wood | Merton |
| London Road, Morden | Merton |
