Safe crossing

SIR – The road crossing with no green man on the far side (Letters, June 22) is known as a puffin crossing. These were introduced in the Nineties and were intended to be more pedestrianfriendly and to improve traffic flow.

Instead of working on a fixed time period, which is sometimes not long enough for pedestrians with restricted mobility to cross, the traffic lights will remain at red as long as someone is detected on the crossing by sensors. For this reason they do not have a red/ green man on the far side, as there is no need to warn pedestrians that the lights are about to change. Placing the visual signal on the near side also helps visually impaired pedestrians.

Nevertheless, there have been consistent worries about safety and possible confusion among pedestrians. Since 2012, local authorities have had the option of installing additional high-level signals to avoid the problem of the normal ones being obscured. The audible and tactile signals fitted to pelican crossings can also be used. R J Smith

Reading, Berkshire

SIR – Visiting London recently, I saw a pedestrian crossing with a countdown clock. Are these only to be found in London and other cities? Bernard Powell

Southport, Lancashire