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Pedestrians are getting longer to cross the road because Brits are getting fatter and older.
Guidelines are being tweaked to allow the little green man 20% longer at crossings to combat a slower, fatter, older population.
Timing crossings is a vital part of town planning as allowing too long can trigger traffic jams while making them too short is dangerous.
READ MORE: Drivers warned as traffic cameras on street made £28m in fines within five years
Under Department for Transport guidelines pedestrians have 6.1 seconds to cross both lanes of a normal road at a walking pace of 1.2 metres per second.
But a new recommendation will allow 7.3 seconds to cross at a speed of 1m per second.
Brian Deegan, director of inspections at Active Travel England – an executive agency of the DfT that has drawn up the guidelines – said: “A lot of infrastructure is aimed at the average person but the number of people excluded by that is growing so we have to tackle it.
“If we don’t give people enough time they are going to feel they can’t cross the road and that will leave some people feeling that they can’t leave their own house if they don’t have a car.
“We are going to have to meet people where they are.
“That means local authorities might need to think about extending crossing times.’’
Deegan said traffic control cameras are now so sophisticated they could give more time to pedestrians at quieter times of the day.
The present guidelines were devised in the early 50s when Britain was adapting to the rapid rise in vehicles often at the expense of pedestrians and cyclists.
Research published a decade ago by University College London showed 76% of men and 85% of women aged over 65 could not use crossings safely because their walking speed was slower than 1.2m per second.
The mean speed of participants in a survey was 0.9m per second for older men and 0.8m per second for women.
Under the new guidelines highway schemes funded by the Government will be rewarded if they give pedestrians extra time to cross.
The changes will be put out to consultation in September but are already being used in a pilot scheme.
- London
- In the News
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