Request ID: FOI-2550-2122 Date published: 01 March 2022
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
1) Has TfL undertaken a review of the protections on Tower Bridge in relation to the risks of hostile vehicle attack?
2) Does TfL consider the existing pedestrian barriers to offer sufficient protection to pedestrians from hostile vehicle attacks, including the use of HGVs?
3) Does TfL acknowledge that pedestrian barriers are shown to increase traffic speeds?
4) Does TfL have any plans to remove the pedestrian barriers in the near term and to replace them with a permeable solution?
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2550-2122 Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 4th February 2022 asking for information about hostile vehicle mitigation on Tower Bridge. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. Your questions are answered in turn below: Question 1 - Has TfL undertaken a review of the protections on Tower Bridge in relation to the risks of hostile vehicle attack? Answer: As a part of our general response to the terrorist outrages that involved the use of vehicles to attack pedestrians, a Threat and Vulnerability Risk Assessment has been carried out to assess the risk of a similar attack on Tower Bridge, and to determine what level of protection is proportionate to the risks identified. Bridges present a particular level of difficulty when it comes to any kind of structural alteration, and this is factored into the consideration of mitigations. Naturally the outputs of the risk assessment carried out by TfL specialists in partnership with specialists from the security services are highly confidential and would be likely to be exempt from disclosure under FOI. Question 2: Does TfL consider the existing pedestrian barriers to offer sufficient protection to pedestrians from hostile vehicle attacks, including the use of HGVs? Answer: As stated above, levels of protection required are assessed using a Threat and Vulnerability Risk Assessment process that deals with features such as likelihood and potential impact, and are site specific. Decisions on levels of protection required are also tempered by other competing priorities, such as accessibility for disabled and partially sighted people, access for cyclists, and must be balanced taking into account the risk factors. Therefore whilst pedestrian guard rails might represent proportionate protection in one location, they might not in others. Question 3:Does TfL acknowledge that pedestrian barriers are shown to increase traffic speeds? Answer: Please see the following research document published on our website, “Pedestrian Guard Railing: A Review of Criteria for Installation”:
This includes the finding that “..traffic speed, traffic flow and pedestrian flow did not differ significantly between sites surveyed with and without guard railing”. Question 4: Does TfL have any plans to remove the pedestrian barriers in the near term and to replace them with a permeable solution? Answer: The barriers in question belong to the Metropolitan Police. There are plans to replace them with a more permanent solution at some juncture, although no timeframe has been agreed and this will be depend on a number of factors including future funding and discussions with the Police. If this is not the information you are looking for 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, David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
