'Ban digital adverts and use speed cameras on bridges to reduce road deaths'

Safety campaigners today called for a major overhaul of London’s roads including a ban on digital adverts, the use of average speed cameras on Thames bridges and the removal of central white lines to slow traffic.

A new alliance, formed by London Living Streets, 20s Plenty for Us and Living Streets, is also calling for more segregated cycle lanes, the removal of gyratory systems and a default, London-wide 20mph speed limit.

The group claims the proposals will be steps towards the “ultimate goal of preventing fatalities and serious injuries” on the capital’s roads.

It is urging Mayor Sadiq Khan to champion the ideas which include narrowing streets and introducing 24/7 capital-wide road-pricing.

Other measures being called for by the alliance, which has produced a report Delivering Vision Zero in London, include improvements to lorry design to make them more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly, and assurances that autonomous vehicles will be compliant with speed limits.

It says London needs to carry out more work on street design, especially with crossings which should never force pedestrians to wait for more than 30 seconds to cross a road.

Crossings should also have longer guaranteed “minimum crossing times” to help the disabled.

The alliance wants more enforcement against motorists to stamp out mobile phone use, speeding, uninsured driving and “intimidation by drivers of other road users”.

It is calling for stricter control of parking contraventions, including double parking, blocking cycle lanes and pavements, following practice in San Francisco.

“Some of these policies have been considered before but it has been very piecemeal,” said group spokesman Jeremy Leach. “We have already seen support for this from the new Mayor’s administration and Transport for London but we want them all pulled together under an effective ‘Vision Zero’ policy. We know from looking at other cities that these measures work. It would be daft not to try them.”

Ben Plowden, TfL’s director of surface strategy and planning, said: “Any death or serious injury on our roads is a tragedy and that is why the Mayor has asked us to develop a ‘Vision Zero’ approach to reducing road danger as part of his forthcoming transport strategy. This means vigorously enforcing traffic law, putting safety at the core of road engineering and working to discourage dangerous behaviour.”