Pedestrian Crossings
All these types of crossing are designed to give priority to
pedestrians by minimising the time they have to wait to cross.
Pelican Crossings
(PEdestrian LIght
CONtrolled Crossings): At this type of crossing a
person waiting to cross a road presses the push-button on a control
box mounted on a traffic signal post. This activates the traffic
light and briefly interrupts the vehicle flow long enough to let
pedestrian(s) cross in safety.
Various devices are installed at crossings to help blind and
partially sighted people:
- on single carriageways traditional 'bleepers' are in place at
the vast majority of Pelican Crossings; and
- on dual carriageways this old type of audible signal causes
problems for blind and partially sighted people because, when the
traffic stops and the bleeper sounds, a blind person is unable to
distinguish which half of the crossing is safe to cross. The
solution to this is to install a small rotating cone device, on the
underside of the Push Button box (a blind person holds the cone
between finger and thumb and, when it starts to turn, knows that
‘the green man’ is showing and it should be safe to
cross).
All new sites with signal controlled pedestrian facilities have
an audible signal (bleeper) or the rotating cone, or both. Any
existing sites with signal controlled pedestrian facilities, when
being modified or upgraded, are supplied with bleepers and/or
rotating cones.
Puffin Crossings
(Pedestrian User
Friendly INtelligent Crossings):
This new type of crossing is to replace the Pelican Crossing. A
Puffin Crossing differs from a Pelican Crossing in that there is no
flashing 'green man' period for pedestrians or flashing amber
period for motorists. Instead detectors are used to:
- determine that there is still a pedestrian waiting to cross;
and
- extend the 'green man' time while a pedestrian is on
the actual crossing.
This system is considered to be much safer as pedestrians will
no longer be intimidated by motorists while on the crossing during
the flashing green man/flashing amber traffic period. The 'green
man' period will also be variable to cater for slower pedestrians.
The Red/Green man signals now form part of the push button unit.
These are sited so that pedestrians, when looking at these signals,
are also looking in the direction of oncoming traffic. Pedestrians
can therefore ensure, more easily, that traffic has stopped before
starting to cross the road under the green man signal. Also being
much closer to waiting pedestrians they are easier to see,
particularly for the visually impaired, rather than looking for
older type signals across the road. In addition, the pedestrian
demand will be cancelled if the pedestrian, having pressed the push
button, crosses through
a gap in the traffic. This will avoid motorists being stopped
unnecessarily when there are no pedestrians waiting to cross.
For more information on Puffin Crossings please visit
the Department for Transport website.
Toucan Crossings
(TWO CAN Crossings):
Another new type of crossing, the Toucan, operates in exactly the
same way as the Puffin Crossing except that it is (usually) wider
and is shared by both cyclists and pedestrians.
Zebra Crossings
These crossings do not have a pedestrian controlled facility, as
in other types of crossings (Pelican, Puffin & Toucan
Crossings).
Related Links: