Count down crossings

[XmisterIS]

They have countdowns on the lights all over Bangkok ... the drivers wait until it hits zero and then just floor the accelerator, regardless of if there are pedestrians still crossing!!

 

[Lurker]

Yip there used to be an alternative type in Dublin, they'd count down to Red light for traffic perhaps so the ped would wait for their green man. They had them about 5-6 year ago IIRC however they disabled/removed the countdown timers after a trial.

Do you know why that was? Is the report of the trial available?

 

[HLaB]

Do you know why that was? Is the report of the trial available?

IIRC they were encouraging peds to cross before their actual green and it was feared that would lead to accidents but don't take my word for it, I left Dublin 5 years ago and they were still in operation in July 2007.

[media]

]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-iy18S63co[/media]

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Am I the only one that interprets this as a "come on, hurry the hell up, 2 seconds, left, cars are waiting, get out of the way and off their road" - and that it will sooner or later be used in a "contributory negligence" defence of a dangerous driving (or death by..) case that the pedestrian should have seen there were only 4 seconds left and shouldn't have been crossing so not completely the driver's fault?

I prefer the simpler "stop at red, go on green unless there is someone still on the crossing"

 

[jonesy]

Am I the only one that interprets this as a "come on, hurry the hell up, 2 seconds, left, cars are waiting, get out of the way and off their road" - and that it will sooner or later be used in a "contributory negligence" defence of a dangerous driving (or death by..) case that the pedestrian should have seen there were only 4 seconds left and shouldn't have been crossing so not completely the driver's fault?

I prefer the simpler "stop at red, go on green unless there is someone still on the crossing"

No, you aren't. The countdown systems are not for the benefit of pedestrians, they are part of the Boris plan to provide a minuscule bit more capacity for car traffic by squeezing the often already inadequate pedestrian phase at signalised junctions.

 

[thomas]

IIRC they were encouraging peds to cross before their actual green and it was feared that would lead to accidents but don't take my word for it, I left Dublin 5 years ago and they were still in operation in July 2007.

[media]

]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-iy18S63co[/media]

It's not hard to look at the lights on the road and to go when it's amber though.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Countdown lights for drivers are very common in south-east asian countries, showing both how long you have to wait before the lights change in your favour, and how long you have left before they change against you.

 

[Origamist]

Here's Living Streets take on the countdown trials:

No to countdown crossings in the capital. National charity Living Streets is calling for the planned trials to introduce countdown crossings in eight London locations to be axed, amidst safety fears for pedestrians.

As part of its plans to smooth traffic flow across the capital, Transport for London has been investigating changing signalised pedestrian crossings, to reduce the green man phase for pedestrians and to introduce countdown timers for pedestrians. TfL say this is to help pedestrians know how long they have to cross, and to help smooth the flow of traffic. A trial has been set across 8 locations in London and is due to commence on 21 June.

Living Streets believes that such a move is an expensive red herring, which could hinder pedestrian safety, make pedestrians feel rushed and unwelcome whilst crossing the road, and goes against the Mayor’s wish to see more people walking. The measure is clearly aimed at getting motor traffic moving quickly rather than improving the walkability of London’s streets.

Findings from previous TfL research on crossing points across London - which is the basis for these new on-street trials - showed
• There was an increase in the number of pedestrians who failed to comply with the signals and crossed either during the blackout period or when the red man was displayed
• There was a reduction in the number of pedestrians who were satisfied with the time provided for crossing.
• There was also an increase in the numbers of pedestrians with mobility impairments who felt rushed or unsafe at the sites where the signals had been re-timed.

Despite these very damaging findings, TfL have now decided to roll out on-street trials of Pedestrian Countdown with the hope of smoothing motor traffic flow- seemingly regardless of the impact on pedestrians.

Tony Armstrong, Chief Executive of Living Streets said:

“The Mayor announced recently that 2011 was to be the year of walking, but introducing countdown crossings will in reality do very little for those traveling by foot and appears to be an illusory measure aimed at improving the flow of motor traffic. We have grave concerns that this comes at the expense of pedestrians and as TfL have already found, the scheme is a triple whammy against pedestrians- less time to cross, more waiting at crossings, and the potential for pedestrians to feel less safe.

“When we are being constantly reminded that the purse strings are being tightened to help us get through this tough economic climate, we can’t quite believe that TfL are going ahead with the introduction of countdown crossings across the capital. This investment should be spent on improving our current crossings and the general quality of our streets to make walking as accessible as possible. Instead, their intentions seem to be to provide crossings which leave people feeling vulnerable and under pressure to cross in a short period of time.

“Fear of traffic and the tortuous amounts of time it can take to cross some roads are real barriers to people walking more short journeys, and lead to more people putting themselves at risk. Older people and people with mobility problems are particularly affected. We don’t need expensive countdown timers installed at up to 6,000 locations across the capital, they are no substitute for quality safe crossings that give sufficient time to cross the road. Our streets are places as well as traffic corridors, and should be designed with people in mind first, not just motor traffic.”

Sign our petition against the countdown crossings in the capital.

http://www.livingstr...-in-the-capital