new puffin crossing

[davidh]

has anyone noticed that the new puffin (?) crossing which has devoured a huge chunk of lordship lane in order connect us all with the co-op actually bangs right into the phone box on the co-op side. well done!

[James Barber]

BT are going to move the phone box.

A tree should also have been moved.

[davidh]

for god's sake. phone box, tree? this bloody crossing is already superfluous. FOUR crossings between iceland and goose green. lunacy!

[James Barber]

Making more options for pedestrians to cross Lordship Lane will make it easier for people to cross closer to where they want to. Would have preferred zebra crossings but TfL buses blocked that and said Southwark had to take the more expensive option of signalled crossings.

Are you worried people will be zig zagging along Lordship Lane crossing at every opportunity causing traffic hold-ups?

[maxxi]

ETA:davidh Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> for god's sake. phone box, tree? this bloody

> crossing is already superfluous. FOUR crossings

> between iceland and goose green. lunacy!

Agreed. One would be questionable but two!? All because people are too lazy to walk to the GG or NrthX rd crossings or too stupid to cross between them without being run over.

ETA: I thought the days of throwing money around like this were supposed to be a thing of the past?

[DulwichFox]

Crossings:-

1. To get to Icelands

2. to get to The Co-Op

3. to get to the Bishop

4. to get to the EDT.

Southwark Council think of everyone. :))

Fox...

[computedshorty]

Planning Dept are considering Roll out Crossings they are portable and roll up like a carpet, to be used by V.I.P.s or anybody holding a permit.

[kford]

James B is right in suggesting that zebra crossings would've been the better option.

Despite being out of favour these days, they actually promote the concept of eye contact between road users which is one of the principles of the living streets movement.

Traffic lights, especially ones located near junctions, create a false sense of priority and can cause motorists to dash through ambers and greens. The crossings on Barry road suffers from this. And traffic lights cause congestion. Look at the chaos with those temporary roadworks lights.

[Applespider]

So long as the new puffin actually stops traffic regularly enough that pedestrians don't get tired of waiting, it should work better than a zebra which on busy roads can end up causing congestion.

Kings Road is full of zebra crossing but there was one particular one (near Waitrose - sorry for mentioning the W word) which they eventually turned into a puffin crossing since barely one car could get through before the next pedestrian stepped on to it. It did help the traffic flow but was also timed (at least originally) so that pedestrians didn't have to wait more than 20-30 seconds for it to change.

Pedestrian crossing timings do drive me batty though particularly when they take an age to change and there's not all that much traffic - or where the traffic is heading for a junction and will sit in a queue in any case (a la the new one at Denmark Hill station)

[computedshorty]

Thats good to know.

A pedestrian user-friendly intelligent crossing (puffin crossing) is a type of pedestrian crossing in use in the United Kingdom.

It differs from a pelican crossing in that the lights controlling the pedestrians are on the near side of the road, rather than on the opposite side. The system also utilises sensors which detect the presence of pedestrians waiting at the crossing, and as they are crossing the road.

Unlike the older Pelican and Toucan crossing designs, where the pedestrian signal lights are mounted on the opposite side of the road, the puffin crossing mounts them at the near road side, set diagonally to the road edge. The stated reason for this design is to allow the pedestrian to monitor passing traffic while waiting for the signal to cross. A second stated reason for the design is that having the lights closer to the user would assist visually impaired people who could have difficulty viewing the signal from across the carriageway.

In addition to the positioning of the crossing control lights, some push-button units (the lower box in the picture) are also fitted with a tactile knob under the unit which rotates when the user may cross. This feature is also added to some pelican crossings.

After requesting to cross (by pressing a button) a kerb-side detector monitors the pedestrian's continued presence at the crossing. Should the pedestrian decide to cross prematurely, walk away from the crossing, or wait outside the detection area, the pedestrian's request to cross could be automatically cancelled so traffic is not halted unnecessarily.

An on-crossing detector ensures that the signal for vehicles remains red until the pedestrians have finished crossing (within practical limits). Unlike the pelican crossing, there is no transitional "flashing" phase.

A further difference from the pelican design, which this design is now replacing, is that when the signal reverts to the normal status, the time delay between successive pedestrian 'green man' indications does not start until the pedestrian push button is pressed. Thus pedestrians will always have a short wait on pressing the cross button. On the pelican system, the delay started as soon as the system finished its cycle so that a pedestrian who pressed the cross button would instantly change the traffic lights if the delay period had expired.

[alice]

love this computedshorty Wrote:

-------------------i want one------------------------------------

> Planning Dept are considering Roll out Crossings

> they are portable and roll up like a carpet, to be

> used by V.I.P.s or anybody holding a permit.

[Jeremy]

People have been complaining for years about the lack of safe crossing points on LL. And now the council have done something about it, guess what... more complaining!!

[James Barber]

Hi Jeremy,

I must admit it did make me grimace to be criticised for something people have been asking for for years and is clearly needed. Can't please everyone all the time.

Hi Maxxi,

It's not about encouraging people to be lazy. Some people can't walk far or have young children. We need Lordship Lane to compete with places where crossing the road is not an issue. I've had in the past requests to cmapiang for a cash machine on the eastern side because crossing the road is so awkward for so many people. But making it easier to cross seems a far better solution.

Lets see how it actually works out and THEN give me a hard time please.

[computedshorty]

I wonder if they put one of these crossings in THE MALL would the Royal Cars stop for pedestrians, I feel pretty certain they would not remove any trees.

I have personally applied to have a tree registered on the Tree Presservation List, this was conveniently lost until after it was cut down.

Admitted another tree can be planted further along but that would only be a sapling. not a fully matured tree that grew over many generations.

Will a replacement be planted?

Well Eh..........Eh........Eh..... Who dealt with it?

[David A]

James B wrote: "I've had in the past requests to campaign for a cash machine on the eastern side because crossing the road is so awkward for so many people"

Really?

Did you receive these requests on April 1st?

If someone is so preternaturally half-witted or staggeringly bone idle that they can't use the crossing at North Cross Road to get to the Post Office, Barclay's or HSBC I wonder how they've managed get through life, let alone open a bank account.

To be honest, they should be made to play in the traffic until something hits them.

On another thread you've quoted ?30k-?50k to do, frankly, a bit of rockery work on the Goose Green roundabout. I realise that you're not in favour of that particular scheme, but how much is it costing to move a tree and a phone box?

Couldn't those expenses, at least, have been spared by putting the crossing a bit to the right or a bit to the left?

[DulwichFox]

Putting these crossings in will not stop peolple crossing Lordship Lane anywhere else.

It will not stop people crossing when the 'RED Man' is showing.

The crossing at Townley road had to be manned by a Lollipop Person because small children

do not understand that such crosssings are not 'Magic Carpets' where the traffic stops

when you step onto them.

How many people have been injured crossing Lordship Lane in the last 5 Years.?

Let's see if such figures are improved.

Fox

[LadyDeliah]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Crossings:-

>

> 1. To get to Icelands

>

> 2. to get to The Co-Op

>

> 3. to get to the Bishop

>

> 4. to get to the EDT.

>

> Southwark Council think of everyone. :))

>

> Fox...

Lol, yes perfect now.

[crano]

I am suprised at how many people oppose a council installing pedestrian crossings on a busy road. The world has gone crazy.

[sfbob]

As someone who can't easily walk long distances-or at speed- I'm all in favour of a couple more crossings. I don't think this is something that will cause too much hassle to the able bodied or young fit or childless-and in the meantime old folk and people with health problems/kids/just bloody heavy shopping bags will appreciate it-I should also say I'm a driver too-and really don't mind it taking a few seconds/minutes more to get from one end of LL to the other.

[uncleglen]

The place where loads of people cross, (including a very elderly lady with a walking stick), is at the junction of Heber Road and LL opposite the northbound bus stop. It is narrow there, you can see down to the bend and there is a lull in the traffic coming from the Plough because of the traffic lights; and where you cross, by the southbound bus stop, there are no parked cars. As far as I know there has been only one serious car/pedestrian collision there.

[dennis]

Hopefully the planners will continue up Lordship Lane to the

Spot that is desperate for a crossing, on the South Circular

outside the Harvester. Drivers tear down the hill after the

bus lane ends to beat (jump) the lights.

This juntion really is a death trap.

[edcam]

The crossings are necessary. That is all.

[ibilly99]

?6 million on Burgess Park making great mountains of earth and closing the park for months os we can get eco-mugged when it's all finished.I've long been convinced that the traffic light manufacturers and the commissioning authorities must be in some kind of masonic club as the UK has more of these than any other country on earth and net result is we impede the day to day lives of the citizens - also the timing of this is suspicious - work done near to the end of the finacila year looks like depts spending their budgets before they lose the money aka money dumping. IMHO

[computedshorty]

Crossing designs.

Understanding Crossings.

The Zebra.

The Zebra designs that might be plain to you

to me a Zebra is an animal caged in the zoo.

It?s striped and coloured in black and white,

don?t understand the connection, that I might.

How can it possibly help me to cross the road,

I have to push a button I must drop my load.

The Toucan.

The Toucan is more explicit, I think they got it right,

I ?m short sighted, and looking across to see the light.

A Toucan Birds colourful bill looks like it packs a bite,

Don?t know where it is now, it?s nowhere here in sight.

I understand it now, one can?t cross as a single man,

a pair can cross together not one alone, but Toucan.

The Pelican.

I can use the Pelican and take as long as it needs,

holding up those speeding cars, while drivers seethes.

But I cant do it twice or must listen to the drivers rage,

I don't care what the say, they must respect my age,

I think they have got the picture or at least a glimmer,

one driver would not wait, now he?s crushed my Zimmer.

[David A]

Or we could all save ourselves a few quid and listen to Les Gray from Mud.