Pedestrian crossings

The council installs or upgrades several pedestrian crossings (zebra or pelican crossings) each year. All requests from residents are looked at individually.
The need for a crossing will is assessed according to:

• traffic volume and pedestrian crossings surveys.
• difficulty that pedestrians face from traffic speed and volumes
• the time pedestrians must wait before they can cross
• the personal injury accident records indicating how many accidents occur that involve pedestrians.

Regular motorists tend to ignore crossings that are rarely used. Pedestrians can rely on the crossing and, rather than watching the traffic. They can assume that because a "green man" is showing the traffic will stop. Both of these problems can result in an increased risk for pedestrians rather than improved safety.

Traffic islands/pedestrian refuges

Traffic Islands Can be installed where a formal pedestrian crossing (pelican, puffin or zebra) is not justified. They help pedestrians by letting them cross the road in two stages. Two restrictions to this measure are:

• that the road must be at least 7.8m wide
• there are no private driveways nearby.

Patrols

The council is responsible for arranging and school crossing patrol wardens. The criteria for such patrols are similar to those for formal pedestrian crossings.
Secondary schools often have no patrols. This is due to a lack of volunteers, and because older children prefer to be independent and do not follow the instructions of a patrol warden.

Junction entry treatments

A junction entry treatment is placed across the carriageway of a minor road at a road junction.
It indicates to motorists that they are leaving a main road and entering a residential area. It reminds them that pedestrians have priority when crossing the junction. It also provides a level crossing surface, which is helpful for those with Pushchairs,prams, bikes or those with disabilities.

This treatment often has a speed table, kerb build-out and gateway features.

Facilities for the disabled

Tactile paving is now used at all new zebra and pelican crossings to help people with impaired vision. Similar tactile paving is also used at many ramped crossing points.
Most single pelican crossings have audible signals, as well as the "green man" signal, to indicate when it is safe to cross the road.
Other staggered two-stage pelican crossings and some junction signals have a tactile signal on the push-buttons, rather than an audible signal. This is so visually impaired people can tell which part of the staggered crossing or junction is safe to cross.