Pedestrians are being put to the test at the busy Paris Street crosswalk near Plaza 69. The City of Greater Sudbury has installed a ?pedestrian countdown? signal on a trial basis to determine whether the device can increase the comfort level of pedestrians crossing busy intersections.
?We understand that crossing busy intersections can be intimidating for many people, especially senior citizens,? said Nathalie Mihelchic, co-ordinator of traffic and transportation with the City of Greater Sudbury in a press release. ?We?re testing the pedestrian countdown signal to see if it helps correct any misconceptions people may have about traffic symbols.?
The most commonly misunderstood traffic symbol is the ?flashing hand? signal at pedestrian crosswalks.
?Many people think a flashing ?don?t walk? signal means they have run out of time to cross the road. In fact, it means don?t start crossing if you are on the curb, but you still have plenty of time to finish crossing if you have already started,? she says.
To activate the digital countdown, pedestrians are asked to press the pedestrian crosswalk signal button. The countdown begins as soon as the ?walk? symbol appears. When the countdown reaches ?zero?, pedestrians remaining in the crosswalk will still have a few seconds to reach the sidewalk.
Pedestrians are reminded to wait for the ?walk? symbol before stepping off the curb.
At the Paris Street crosswalk, pedestrians have 21 seconds to complete the road crossing. The amount of time programmed into pedestrian traffic signals varies across the city.
