Wheelchair signal lights installed at London crossings

Pete Reed, a naval officer and three-time Olympic champion, said the lights "represent progress, positivity and possibility"

Traffic signals featuring wheelchair users have been installed at five pedestrian crossings across London.

They were suggested by three-time Olympic rowing champion Capt Pete Reed, who had a spinal stroke in 2019.

Transport for London (TfL) has previously used crossings to "reflect diversity" with designs to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in 2016 and women in 2021.

The new lights were installed for free by traffic management company, Yunex.

They show an outline of a figure in a wheelchair rather than a striding green man.

The signals, in Earl's Court, King's Cross, Liverpool Street, Tower Hill and Whitechapel, also mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, on 3 December.

The locations were selected based on their proximity to busy Tube stations, which offer step-free access, TfL said.

The lights can be seen in action at London Liverpool Street and four other locations

Capt Reed said: "As an Olympic athlete and naval officer, I spent my early adult life at the peak of human fitness. In 2019, in one day everything changed for me.

"My life now as a full-time wheelchair user has a whole range of new demands, which can be dramatically helped by better access and transport for wheelchair users, just as there should also be for the wider disabled community.

"What are only five traffic lights to one Londoner represent progress, positivity and possibility to another. The disabled community can and do offer so much value to all parts of society - I hope this visibility in mainstream life makes more people feel comfortable about getting out in the city and raising their voices where they see opportunity for positive change and collaboration."

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