Step free access at East Putney Station is essential.  

Join my campaign for Step Free Access for East Putney station – please sign the petition today: https://www.fleuranderson.co.uk/2023/01/17/petition-east-putney-step-free-access/  

Everyone who lives near East Putney knows how steep the stairs to East Putney station are. This makes it impossible for many people with mobility issues to use the station and very difficult and dangerous for parents with wheelchairs, anyone with luggage and during peak usage times. 

I have been campaigning for step free access since I was elected and had a debate in Parliament on this back in March 2020. 

COVID put move funding for step free access on hold, but a new programme is being planned and so I am launching this campaign with East Putney Councillor, Finna Ayres. Sign the petition today to show your support for step free access and I will hand this in to the Parliament, to the Mayor of London and to the Chief Executive of Transport for London. 

I wrote to Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance towards to put the case for step free access for East Putney Station and following this, myself and Cllr Finna Ayres met with him to discuss how we can make this happen. 

This is an issue of huge concern to my constituents in Putney, and it reflects a wider problem facing disabled passengers and parents of small children up and down the country. East Putney provides a vital connection to the underground network and a transport connection to the nearby Putney train station. Also, Putney Bridge is not step-free which makes the case a very strong one as such a large number of people both sides of the river do not have access to their tube station. 

The latest available figures show a footfall of 6.18 million passengers a year through East Putney station, more than neighbouring Southfields and Putney Bridge stations. Despite that, there is currently no step-free access to the station platform. There are just two very steep, very high staircases. By the standards of normal staircases, they are relatively dangerous. This is more than just an inconvenience; it presents an insurmountable barrier to many disabled residents, parents of small children and those who are unsteady on their feet, and it potentially cuts them off from the underground network and from affordable public transport altogether. This is a basic equality issue, not just a financial or logistical issue. 

Transport for London will look at many stations across the network to consider them for inclusion in the new step free scheme in the next few months, so now is a crucial time to show how important the case for East Putney is. 

I will keep campaigning for step free access.