Walking charity Living Streets has launched a new campaign calling for reduced waiting times for pedestrians at signal-controlled crossings.
The charity said research (in 2006) has shown that 30 seconds is the longest a pedestrian will wait at a signalised crossings before attempting to cross against the ‘red man’.
It said it is asking members of the public to nominate a crossing for their local council to review, in the hope that it will encourage the relevant authority to reduce the waiting time and improve pedestrians’ journeys.
Living Streets said its campaigners in London successfully worked with Transport for London to reduce unnecessary wait times and that the project showed that crossing users reported a significantly better experience where wait times had been reduced from up to two minutes down to 30 seconds or less.
It added that research shows that over a quarter of people (26%) would walk more on their local streets if there were more or better crossings.
Living Streets chief executive Stephen Edwards said: ‘When it comes to crossing waiting times, less is more. We know pedestrians are more likely to risk crossing the road when they are made to wait.
‘Reducing wait times for pedestrians is a quick, low-cost intervention that improves safety and gives priority to people using the cheapest and cleanest way to get around.’
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