Special anniversary Legible London maps of Brixton, Old Street and North Bank have been launched today to help people living, working and visiting London to walk regularly around the Capital. The maps have been launched a month after Public Health England (PHE) released new statistics showing how millions of people across the UK still don’t walk the recommended amount each month.
The maps, in the same style as the popular Legible London wayfinding signs dotted around the city, have been produced by Transport for London (TfL) in partnership with illustrator Matt Blease, and business partnerships in Brixton, Old Street and North Bank. There are now over 1,700 Legible London signs across the city and, in line with the draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy, TfL is working with boroughs, businesses and other partners to install new signs.
PHE recently said that 41 per cent of the 15.3 million English adults aged 40 to 60 walk less than 10 minutes continuously each month at a brisk pace of at least 3mph. And GLA analysis shows that if every Londoner walked or cycled for 20 minutes a day, it would save the NHS £1.7bn in treatment costs over the next 25 years.
The Mayor’s ambitious draft Transport Strategy includes the aim of increasing the proportion of people walking, cycling and taking public transport to 80 per cent of journeys by 2041, compared to 64 per cent now, meaning an average of 3 million fewer car journeys in London each day. London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman today reiterated the importance of getting more Londoners both cycling and walking across all parts of the city.
To mark ten years of the Legible London signs, Illustrator Matt Blease has created an eye-catching design for the covers of the new maps using the Legible London colours. The covers bring walking to each part of London in a playful visual pun placing feet on the letters of each area.
Image: © Oliver Grange
