Request ID: FOI-0279-2122 Date published: 26 May 2021
You asked
Comments: I am an MSc Regional and Urban planning Studies candidate at xxx. My dissertation will be focusing on grey and green infrastructure in relation to accessibility. I am hoping you can provide me with information regarding whether EDI statements are required for tree placement and removal projects and if the same is true for the installation and maintenance of pavement?
We answered
TfL Ref 0279-2021/22
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 6 May 2021 asking for information about our trees and pavements. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. You asked for: information regarding whether EDI statements are required for tree placement and removal projects and if the same is true for the installation and maintenance of pavement.
TfL do not use EDI statements as part of the design process, instead we use Equality Impact Assessments (EqIA’s) where warranted, to assess the impact on users with protected characteristics of a given proposal, and using the output to inform decision making. EqIA’s are not typically conducted for routine interventions such as tree planting, however considerations for the needs of all users is always made when determining whether a location for planting is appropriate in the short, medium, and long term.
Similarly, an EqIA may be used when introducing new, widened, or narrowed footways, depending on the scale of the change and the repositioning of assets such as bus shelters.
The maintenance of TfL’s pavements and carriageways operates under these guidelines: TfL will ensure that the roads and footways under its responsibility remain safe following the Well Maintained Highways Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance. The Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) is inspected on a regular basis, an effective way of assessing and recording the relative risks associated with potential circumstances of network condition. There are three categories of inspections – safety, service and condition and each of these inspections provide the basic information for addressing the core objectives of highway maintenance namely network safety, serviceability and sustainability. This information is used to develop maintenance programmes.
We publish more information on accessibility on our network including on pavements which you may be interested in. The link to our website is as follows: https://tfl.gov.uk/transport-accessibility/
If you are considering submitting a further FOI request please think carefully about whether the request is essential at this current time, as answering FOI requests will require the use of limited resources and the attention of staff who could be supporting other essential activity. Where requests are made, please note that our response time may be impacted by the current situation.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
