By Our Wellness Correspondent
Fitzrovia is no stranger to eccentric ideas, but the council’s latest pilot scheme has left locals blinking.
This week, Westminster Council announced it would be trialling the UK’s first “Wellness Traffic Lights” at the junction of Goodge Street and Charlotte Street. Instead of the standard red, amber, and green signals, the lights will now glow in calming hues of lavender, sage, and “early morning apricot,” with the aim of reducing stress among pedestrians and drivers.
According to council documents, the initiative is designed to make “urban pausing” less aggressive. “We want Londoners to feel soothed, not shouted at, while waiting to cross,” said Councillor Martina Redfern, Head of Holistic Infrastructure. “A red light screams ‘stop,’ but lavender gently suggests ‘consider stillness.’”
Reactions from locals have been mixed.
“I was nearly flattened by a taxi because I didn’t realise apricot meant go,” complained Tom Wilkinson, who works in a nearby design agency. “By the time I stepped off the curb, everyone else had already moved. It’s basically mindfulness roulette.”
Others, however, claim the lights have improved their mood. “I used to get furious at red lights,” said cyclist Amelia Green. “Now I just feel like I’m in a spa. I cried tears of relaxation yesterday outside the Post Office.”
The scheme has also caught the attention of Fitzrovia’s wellness entrepreneurs. A pop-up crystal shop has already set up near the junction, offering “traffic light attunement sessions” for £45 an hour.
Despite safety concerns, the council insists the project has “measurable wellbeing benefits” and hinted at expanding the scheme to Oxford Street, where traffic lights could eventually double as “aromatherapy diffusers.”
The trial continues until December.
