TfL unveils designs for Covid-19 transport victims’ memorial
Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled designs for a memorial to honour London’s transport workers who died from Covid-19.
Set in Aldgate’s Braham Street, the memorial will feature a plaque paying tribute to the pandemic’s transport victims and will be surrounded by several benches and a cherry tree.
TfL is expected to submit a planning application to Tower Hamlets’ council by early 2022, unveiling the memorial by the summer.
“I hope that the new permanent memorial in the middle of our city will be a place where those that have lost loved ones will find solace, and be a reminder of the heroic key workers who have made it possible for us to come through the pandemic by keeping our city moving,” commented London mayor Sadiq Khan.
During the pandemic, 98 London transport workers died because of the pandemic, with numbers increasing when counting taxi and private hire drivers.
“TfL staff have been dedicated in keeping our city moving through the pandemic and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their service to Londoners,” said Tower Hamlet’s mayor John Biggs.
“Very sadly a number of transport workers have passed away due to coronavirus, it’s fitting that we remember them with this memorial and my sincere condolences go out to their families.”
Biggs added that next week the borough will host a series of events to mark the pandemic and honour the victims.
To commemorate all the Londoners who died during the pandemic, the mayor opened on 24 May a blossom garden in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, planting 33 blossom trees – each representing one of the city’s boroughs.
Khan announced the project in November 2020 saying: “The pandemic has changed our capital forever. It has disproportionately impacted many of our communities and exposed and widened inequalities in our society.
“This public garden of blossom trees will be a permanent reminder of the lives that have been lost, a tribute to every single key worker, and a symbol of how Londoners have stood together to help one another.”