please empty your brain below
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Interesting perspective. I suppose I must be angelic as I much prefer the new style “all in one go” crossings to the old-style staggered crossings with a central island.
In the old style, the two arms of the crossing are rarely simultaneously green, so angelic folks have to wait for their lights twice.
Another praiseworthy addition to the new style crossings is the countdown. It means you get more useful time out of the green phase.
I’m all for new innovations in favour of the angels.
Dan | 21.12.21 - 7:10 a.m. | #
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It is the roads that are getting wider (in places) and as a consequence the pedestrian crossings are getting longer.
I am all for wider pedestrian crossings.
Pedantic of Purley | 21.12.21 - 8:12 a.m. | #
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Happy Solstice
John | 21.12.21 - 8:14 a.m. | #
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A lot of people would argue that TfL has got its priorities wrong, with cyclists promoted above the needs of pedestrians, and (unintended) negative effects on bus journey times.
TfL has previously indicated that providing for peak hour cycling is cheaper than adding tube capacity, though that may be a justification that has had its day.
I believe that although the move to two stage pedestrian crossings was to increase vehicle flow, the pedestrian casualty rate is likely to be lower than at the longer, straight through crossings. This isn't Germany where most pedestrians will dutifully wait for a green man on a deserted road in the middle of the night!
Paul | 21.12.21 - 8:47 a.m. | #
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Your post is about crossings getting longer not wider; even after how ever many years of not having a car you’re still thinking of crossings from a car perspective.
There’s lot of reasons for the shift to longer crossing. They are safer, they remove guardrail which is both safer for cyclists and also makes the urban realm look nicer. They are cheaper to maintain and for the more vulnerable pedestrians they are quicker as don’t have to wait at multiple staggers to cross.
David | 21.12.21 - 9:34 a.m. | #
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This, I think, is what happens when the “two wheels good, four wheels bad” mantra takes hold as strongly as it has with TfL and some local councils. With the Pedestrians Association also allegedly hijacked by activists from cycling campaigns, there’s less and less thought given to those who use pavements and crossings to get around, so junctions and roads are routinely re-planned in favour of cyclists. Bus stops are often moved to the road side of cycle lanes, adding another obstacle for foot passengers (I think you’ve shown a local example), so it gets harder and harder for those who are not as young, fit and fearless as the transport planners to get around. Birmingham in the 60s was notoriously pedestrian-hostile, with car priority in ring roads and underpasses, but now it looks as though London’s going the same way, only driven by cycling.
Labourer | 21.12.21 - 9:53 a.m. | #
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Yesterday, I read an article on the forthcoming changes to the Highway Code. From Jan 29 there will be a new hierarchy at junctions:
Pedestrians > Cyclists > Motor Bikes > Cars > Large Vehicles
If a car is turning left then a pedestrian who wants to cross the road the car is turning into will in future have priority and can step out in front of the car (or a bike for that matter)!
The example given for when a bike has priority over a car was so badly written coupled with an equally unhelpful diagram to boot leaves me none the wiser here.
The article concluded with the totally unreassuring comment that these changes had been well publicised. Well not to me I'm afraid.
And, of course there was no mention that these changes will (presumably?!) only apply at non light controlled junctions.
Sadly, I foresee confusion and tragedy only cushioned with the knowledge that relatively few pedestrians actually know their new rights at present.
Ken | 21.12.21 - 9:53 a.m. | #
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As above. Roads are wider. Crossings are longer. Except for all the places where pavements have been widened, where they’re shorter.
Bryn Davies | 21.12.21 - 10:04 a.m. | #
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The problem - down to a missed trick - for pedestrians at many of these junctions is that rather than indicate that they should cross diagonally - and so negotiate the junction in one go, the suggestion is still that you go round the edge, necessitating two long waits.
Jeremy GH | 21.12.21 - 10:48 a.m. | #
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The general flavour of DG's piece today makes one wish there were more prosecutions/fines for jay-walking ( in fact we should be just like Germany ! )
pierre | 21.12.21 - 11:22 a.m. | #
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One benefit of having a secondary school built on Green Belt (Croxley, Herts) is that the local pedestrian crossings have been upgraded to accept teenage children's impatience. The lights can change within seconds of a button-push, and for a split crossing, the second half auto-changes on approach!
Nick K | 21.12.21 - 11:26 a.m. | #
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Regarding the right of pedestrians over other road users, my father would say "You may be right. Dead right. But just as dead as wrong..."
Nick K | 21.12.21 - 11:27 a.m. | #
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The bigger question is will cyclists & e-scooters stop to allow all the angelic pedestrians cross when it's their turn?
Many seem to want the best of both words, acting as a motor vehicle or a pedestrian as it suits them!
Cornish Cockney | 21.12.21 - 11:41 a.m. | #
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"If a car is turning left then a pedestrian who wants to cross the road the car is turning into will in future have priority"
Ken - that was already the case - Highway Code Rule 170
Timbo | 21.12.21 - 11:59 a.m. | #
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I think there's probably a happy medium when it comes to refuges. Having conditioned myself to wait for the green man in most cases (because I've usually got a small person with me), there are some junctions that take the piss. The Lea Interchange, for example, where Waterden Road to Eastway can take 7 crossings. Or to give a slightly simpler nearby junction, Westfield Avenue and International Way, where a simple north-south crossing has four green men to wait for.
martin | 21.12.21 - 12:09 p.m. | #
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As many cyclist seem to prefer to ride on the pavement perhaps TfL should do away with the Cycle Highways they have imposed on pedestrians
Tones | 21.12.21 - 4:32 p.m. | #
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Ken - I saw that too. Hard to believe that the extracts shown could be from a professionally produced document, or even a draft. As if being badly written wasn't enough, the caption to one of the diagrams actually suggests cyclists shouldn't ride too close to the curb (sic)
RogerW | 21.12.21 - 4:44 p.m. | #
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Timbo - Rule 170 currently states "... watch out for pedestrians crossing a road into which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way." In future they may only be "about" to cross, so give way. I do not consider this to be a trivial change.
RogerW - thank you for the extra detail. I have gone back and tried to read it again with fresh eyes, and I agree it is still atrocious.
Ken | 21.12.21 - 6:57 p.m. | #
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I'm with Bryn, I've noticed more roads that have been redeveloped narrower as a traffic calming measure, especially in LTNs, along with neckdowns, and removed lanes of traffic to accommodate cycle lanes. If TFL has a database of road widths you could get a fair few blogs out of it I'd imagine.
Sergey | 21.12.21 - 8:01 p.m. | #
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That before / after junction is doing bugger all for cyclists. There's some advance stop lines (will inevitably have cars stopped in them), but that's it.
That looks more like capacity increase (for motors) and/or making the street on the left quiet.
Agree 100% about pedestrian islands
h2g2bob | 23.12.21 - 9:48 a.m. | #
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pierre: Even in Germany, compared to the fines for other road users (be they cyclists or fully motorised) the fines for pedestrians crossing against a red light are really only nominal – normally 5 €, or at most 10 € if you've actually also caused some property damage. And personally I'd actually wish for the opposite (i.e. as long as you're crossing without causing an accident), and am looking wistfully to the UK in that regard.
One welcome innovation in that regard has been that a number of crossings where the signalling is only provided for the purpose of allowing pedestrians to cross have been switched to an all-dark-by-default model of operation, where not just the road signals, but also the pedestrians signals are completely off by default, allowing you to legally cross during a gap in traffic without having to explicitly wait for the green man to appear.
Unfortunately that doesn't change anything with regards to the larger intersections, though – there you're supposed to wait, and wait, and wait, even when you eventually know the signal timing by heart and possibly only need to cross a single lane with good visibility of any approaching traffic.
Ken, Timbo: Yes, I've noticed the difference every time I've been on holiday in the UK. In Germany the rules have included pedestrians *about* to cross for a long time and as a pedestrian you can usually rely on that.
In the UK on the other hand it immediately felt different – even when I had already set foot on one half of the carriageway, motorists might still try to quickly execute a turn in the other half.
Jan | 25.12.21 - 7:29 p.m. | #
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