Call for action from blind group on 'dangerous' pedestrian crossings (From Haringey Independent)

Call for action from blind group on 'dangerous' pedestrian crossings

9:10am Thursday 23rd February 2012 in News By David Hardiman

The chairman of a Haringey blind charity has called for improvements to “dangerous” pedestrian crossings after research found 15 were unfit for the partially sighted.

Jagdish Tank, chairman of Haringey Phoenix Group, which works with the 1,500 people registered blind or partially sighted in the borough, said he had nearly been knocked down twice by cars near his Hornsey home.

The 54-year-old, of Pembroke Road, said Transport for London (TfL) figures which showed 15 crossings lack audible bleeps or tactile rotating cones made it difficult for blind people to know when it was safe to cross the road.

Mr Tank, who is registered blind himself, added: “Living in Hornsey I have to take the W3 bus every day and the crossing by the bus stop at Priory Road and Middle Lane is especially dangerous – once a car swerved and hit the verge to avoid hitting me.

“When there’s no way of knowing when to cross the road it makes it difficult – I wish they would put in the rotating boxes at the crossings because it’s very dangerous.

“The nearest safe crossing is up by Priory Park and that really is quite far away.”

The Royal National Institute for the Blind has called for all the candidates in May’s elections for the Mayor of London to commit to making sure that all crossings meet national standards for accessibility.

The campaign is being backed by Hornsey and Wood Green MP Lynne Featherstone, who accompanied Mr Tank on a trip around Wood Green, where many of the problem crossings are.

She told the Haringey Independent: “TfL has known about this issue for years and I have contacted them again to demand faster action. The Mayor must ensure the problems are fixed.”

Mr Tank travels every day to the Haringey Phoenix Group’s Winfield Centre in Winkfield Road, Wood Green, and said the journey makes him feel like he is “risking his life”.

He added: “I feel like I must face danger every day, just to make an ordinary journey that a sighted person could make without thinking twice.”