‘Install side road zebras everywhere'
London Assembly member endorses widespread use - Story 115
A senior London Assembly member has urged City Hall and Transport for London to adopt ‘side road zebra’ crossings at scale, calling them a fast, low-cost way to reduce pedestrian harm on the capital’s streets.
Caroline Russell AM, who leads the Green Group at City,made the proposal as part of a broader push to end what she calls ‘the acceptance of road death in London.’ In a new report titled Changing the Narrative, she sets out 25 ideas aimed at reshaping the capital’s approach to street safety, with a focus on design, language and legislation. She has called on the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) to lead
.. a big conversation about how every Londoner can play their part in cutting miles driven, injuries sustained, and lives lost on London’s roads each day.
Her remarks come amid sobering data. According to provisional figures for 2024, 110 people were killed and 3,586 seriously injured on London’s roads, a reduction of 24% compared with the 2010–14 average. But at a Transport for London board meeting in June, TfL’s Commissioner warned that
significant acceleration is needed to meet the 2041 Vision Zero ambition.
That ambition, set out in the Mayor’s 2018 Vision Zero Action Plan, includes eliminating all deaths and serious injuries from road collisions by 2041 and preventing any fatal incidents involving London buses by 2030.
Other cities are already moving faster. Helsinki, for example, recently recorded a full year without a single pedestrian or cyclist killed by a car.
Among Russell’s 25 recommendations is a call to install many more side road zebra crossings,
According to Russell:
Side road zebras are far cheaper than standard zebra crossings because they do not require electricity, lighting columns or Belisha beacons
They can be installed rapidly with paint alone
A Transport for Greater Manchester trial found drivers were significantly more likely to yield to pedestrians when side road zebras were present.
A July 2025 Sustrans report on inclusive street design identified side road zebras as one of five key asks from disabled people, noting they made crossings feel safer and more predictable.
The proposal echoes calls previously highlighted on this blog from Westminster Councillor Max Sullivan and Chris Boardman, the former Olympic cyclist and England’s National Active Travel Commissioner.
Russell’s report argues that London must move from symbolic commitments to practical delivery.
If we are serious about Vision Zero then every side road should reflect that.
The full report is available to download below. Side road zebras are detailed on page 24.
