Transport for London (TfL) has released designs for a memorial to London’s transport workers who lost their lives to coronavirus.
The new memorial will be created on a pedestrian plaza on Braham Street in Aldgate, just around the corner from a couple of tube stations and a large bus garage.
The space will contain a plaque paying tribute to London’s transport workers as well as benches to allow quiet reflection and remembrance. A cherry blossom tree will also be planted, echoing the new public garden of blossom trees created in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to commemorate all Londoners who lost their lives to coronavirus.
Over 100 transport workers died during the pandemic, made up of 98 TfL staff along with a number of taxi and private hire drivers.
Last week the Transport Commissioner wrote to the families of those who worked on TfL services and had died of coronavirus to offer his personal condolences and to share the plans for the memorial.
Following feedback from the families of those who died, TfL aims to submit a planning application to Tower Hamlets Council for the memorial by early 2022. Subject to approvals, TfL aims to deliver the memorial as quickly as possible so it can be formally unveiled by summer 2022.
The plans for the memorial will see the existing pedestrian space on Braham St cleaned up and improved alongside the creation of the new memorial to allow for a quiet and well-maintained location for those wishing to pay their respects.
