Pedestrian Facilities
Over 80% of trips under one mile long are made on foot and the
proportion is even greater for journeys under a mile. Pedestrians
are particularly susceptible to risks posed by other road-users,
although individuals may under or over estimate the risk in a given
situation.
Pedestrian networks should be planned carefully and
implemented incrementally; they should be related to cycling and
incorporated into town centre strategies where possible. Footways
and footpaths should be aligned as directly as possible between the
main trip origins and destinations as pedestrians are not confined
and often take the shortest and direct path between their origin
and destination.
Pedestrian Crossing
Facilities
Each year the Council receives a large number of requests for
pedestrian crossing facilities. The justification for a crossing is
assessed using a set calculation (which measures the “conflict”
between pedestrians and vehicles) as well as looking at other
factors such as traffic volume, difficulties for pedestrians,
location and speed and the personal injury accident records.
Crossings can, in some instances, increase the risk of injury
for pedestrians. Motorists regularly using a particular stretch of
road tend to ignore crossings if not often used and similarly
pedestrians rely on the crossing rather than watching the traffic,
assuming the traffic will stop.
The Department for Transport now recommends the use of an
explicit procedure involving an assessment framework including a
site assessment record. The boundaries of the site assessment
should extend 50 metres either side of the intended pedestrian
crossing, however this also has to take into account side roads and
major entrances to buildings that go across the footway. Factors
included in the assessment include: existing road lighting
standards, waiting and loading restrictions, public transport
stopping points, location of nearby junctions, skid resistance of
the carriageway, flow and composition of pedestrians and average
time taken and difficulty experienced in crossing the road as a
small selection of examples.
Various requirements have to be met when siting pedestrian
crossing facilities. They should be located well away from
potential conflict points at uncontrolled road junctions.
Signal-controlled crossings on a major road should be a minimum of
20 metres from the give-way line on a side-road. For zebras they
should be an absolute minimum of 5 metres away.
Visibility is critical. The crossing must not be obscured by
street furniture or parked vehicles, for 85th percentile
speeds of 30 and 40mph (the speed at which 85% of the traffic is
travelling on or below) the desirable minimum visibility distance
is 65 metres and 100 metres respectively. Crossings should not be
sited adjacent to bus stops. If this is unavoidable, bus stops
should always be beyond the crossing.
Traffic Islands &
Pedestrian Refuges:
Traffic islands either at the mouth of a junction or in the
‘ghost’ area of a right-turning lane can provide valuable
assistance to pedestrians.
Refuge islands are also a relatively inexpensive method of
improving crossing facilities for pedestrians. They allow
pedestrians to cross roads in two sections, thereby increasing
their opportunity to cross safely.
The most important factor to consider if wishing to construct
a refuge, is the available width of the road to accommodate the
width of the island. Whilst current standards allow an absolute
minimum width of 1.2 metres, this is inadequate for more than the
occasional individual pedestrian. The standing capacity should be
related to its actual use at peak periods of pedestrian flows.
Where people with pushchairs or wheelchairs are likely to cross,
the refuge should be at least 2.0 metres wide.
Refuges should be sited where the majority of pedestrians want
to cross. If, for overriding safety reasons, this is not possible,
then short lengths of pedestrian guard railing should be installed
to guide pedestrians to the crossing. Refuges should not be sited
where drivers’ and pedestrians’ views of each other are likely to
be obstructed.
Advantages:
- Reduces vehicle speed;
- Can improve road safety;
- Prevents overtaking.
Disadvantages:
- Can reduce on street parking;
- Not suitable for large groups of pedestrians;
- May be considered visually intrusive;
- Can cause problems for wide vehicles (e.g. emergency services)
and cyclists.
To exercise priority over traffic, pedestrians actually have
to be on the zebra crossing markings (black and white stripes).
This type of crossing is therefore not ideal where traffic speeds
or volumes are high. Zebra crossings may also be unsuitable where
pedestrian volumes are so high that pedestrians are likely to
dominate the crossing and cause long delays to vehicular
traffic.
Advantages:
- Provides a good crossing point for pedestrians;
- Pedestrians do not have to wait for traffic lights to change in
their favour.
Disadvantages:
- Can be ignored by drivers if not frequently used by
pedestrians;
- Can cause delays to vehicles when pedestrian flows are
high;
- Drivers sometimes ignore those waiting to cross.
Pelican/Puffin/Toucan
Crossings
These types of crossing are controlled by signals and are
predominantly used on roads that have high traffic volumes, traffic
approach speeds or pedestrian flows. A ‘pelican’ is the
“traditional” crossing which controls the vehicles and pedestrian
movements with traffic lights and pedestrians must wait for the
“green man” before crossing.
Variations now occur with new technology such as ‘puffin’
crossings (Pedestrian User-Friendly Intelligent) and ‘toucan’
crossings (dedicated cyclist phase, hence “two-can” cross
safely).
The puffin pedestrian detection is used to automatically vary
the length of time for the pedestrian period, giving pedestrians
the actual amount of time they need to cross, by use of sensors.
The system should also remove the irritation some drivers feel when
stopped needlessly at existing crossings when there are no
pedestrians waiting to cross.
By replacing the flashing amber period with a steady red
signal to vehicular traffic, the puffin gives pedestrians
(particularly older and disabled people) a greater sense of
protection compared with a pelican crossing. The pedestrian signals
are normally mounted on the primary pole on the approach to the
crossing and are positioned to allow them to watch approaching
traffic, while keeping the signal in their field of view. This is
particularly helpful for visually impaired people using crossings
who cannot clearly discern signals mounted across the road.
Advantages:
- Provides a good crossing point for pedestrians;
- Vehicle delays are at a minimum as pedestrians wait and cross
as a group;
- Safer for the visually impaired due to the “beep” when you can
cross;
- Puffin and toucan crossings result in less delay for traffic
due to pedestrian sensitive technology;
- Improves road safety.
Disadvantages:
- Traffic lights and railings may be considered visually
intrusive;
- Cannot be located on high speed roads;
- Difficult to locate due to residents not wanting crossings
outside their homes.
Please contact Hampshire County Council on 0800 028
0888.
Footway (pavement) maintenance is the responsibility of
Hampshire Highways Eastleigh (Hampshire County
Council).
For footway or road maintenance issues, please contact Ruth
Rose on 023 8068 8484.
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Page Last Updated: 7/24/2006
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