Pedestrian crossing times to be reduced
North Somerset Council is making changes to pedestrian crossings across the area in order to reduce waiting times for walkers and vehicle drivers.
At present people walking or wheeling in North Somerset can wait up to 60 seconds at some standalone signalised crossings.
Research shows that people waiting to cross often become impatient after 20 seconds, resulting in unsafe crossings without the green man light. This also leads to frustration for drivers who find themselves facing a ghost crossing – a red light with no one waiting to cross.
The council now plans to improve around 80 per cent of the crossings in the area reducing the wait time to around 15 seconds.
The changes will begin in October and are being funded by the Green Infrastructure Fund, the NHS, Active Travel England and North Somerset Council.
The project is expected to cost around £46,000.
Reducing wait times will improve the pedestrian experience (especially in wet weather), support people trying to choose more active ways to get around (leading to health and wellbeing benefits) and increase pedestrian safety.
Cllr Hannah Young, North Somerset Council’s executive member with responsibility for highways said the crossing improvements will help to make roads safer for those on foot and wheel.
“Reducing wait times at pedestrian crossings is a key part of our plan to make our roads safer and encourage active travel.
“We have assessed all of our crossings with a view to reducing wait times to 15 seconds and have identified 54 of our 68 standalone signalised crossings suitable for immediate improvement.
A further nine have been identified where additional assessment is required with only five where there are concerns over the impact on vehicle flows and where additional work is required.”
It is hoped to complete the roll out of the reduced crossing time programme by the end of the year.
