'Green man' time at hundreds of London's busiest crossings has been slashed to just six seconds, it can be revealed.
Transport for London was today criticised by City Hall after safety fears were raised as the amount of time afforded to cross roads is at the minimum allowed at 568 junctions.
The admission comes as the number of pedestrians killed on the capital's roads rose from 58 in 2010 to 69 in 2012, while the total killed or seriously injured rose 23 per cent in that period.
Among the locations where crossing time has been reduced the minimum of six seconds are busy junctions at hot spots including Trafalgar Square, Oxford Circus and Piccadilly.
The figures came to light as TfL bosses were given a grilling at City Hall by the London Assembly Transport Committee, which found that no systematic analysis of collision rates had been conducted at the 568 sites where crossing times were reduced.
Valerie Shawcross, who chairs the Transport Committee, said: "The recent increase in pedestrian deaths and serious injuries on London's streets is a cause of great concern. It reverses more than a decade of improved casualty rates and we would expect TfL to be taking a proactive approach to building an evidence base to explain this worrying trend."
Campaigners told the meeting that people felt "rushed" at crossings and were even being discouraged from walking in central London as a result.
