Stop, look, listen ... and social distance

Councils aim to discourage pedestrians from crowding together and breaking the two-metre rule

Councils are shortening the time people have to wait at pedestrian crossings in an effort to aid social distancing. Residents in Wiltshire have had the time they wait for the green man halved from 30 seconds to 15. Council bosses hope the move will prevent people from crowding together at the roadside and breaking the two-metre social distancing rule. The initiative was pioneered in Manchester, with the average wait time falling from 106 seconds to 87.

COUNCILS are shortening the time people wait at pedestrian crossings in an effort to aid social distancing.

Residents in Wiltshire have had the time they wait for the green man at crossings cut in half from 30 seconds to 15. Council bosses hope the move will prevent people from crowding together at the roadside and breaking the two-metre social distancing rule.

The initiative was first pioneered in Manchester earlier this month when the city’s transport provider said timings were reduced at 1,000 signalised crossings, with the average wait time falling from 106 seconds to 87 seconds.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TFGM) said changes will start in the city centre and be implemented during off-peak times only, and not at weekends, to prevent congestion on the roads during busier times.

Richard Dolphin, TFGM’S highways network performance manager, said: “This change was put in place to reflect the current traffic conditions.

“With much lower traffic volumes on our roads, we can run the signals in a way better suited for pedestrians, without causing any delays for traffic.

“For those who are taking essential journeys on foot, these changes mean people are less likely to group together at pedestrian crossings, helping them keep safe and maintain social distancing.”

Cllr Bridget Wayman, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said the policy to reduce waiting times for pedestrians will be kept under review in case it leads to longer traffic queues. “As more people walk and cycle to work and for leisure, it’s important we do all we can to aid social distancing,” she said. “One of the ways we can do this is to change the times on pedestrian crossings throughout the county to keep people on the move.

“These changes will be rolled out over the next few weeks, starting in the larger urban areas, before moving to crossings in villages and other areas.

“We recognise this may affect traffic flow in certain locations, so we will keep this under review and make changes as necessary.”

Wiltshire Council also plans to make “significant changes” to road layouts in order to give more space to cyclists and pedestrians looking to obey the twometre social distancing rule.

London has seen a significant drop off in the number of people using public transport since the pandemic.

Earlier in the month, Sadiq Khan, the capital’s Mayor, announced plans to widen pavements for pedestrians and increase the number of cycle routes to ease pressure on buses and trains forced to limit numbers because of coronavirus.

“The capacity of our public transport will be dramatically reduced postcoronavirus as a result of the huge challenges we face around social distancing,” Mr Khan said.

“Many Londoners have rediscovered the joys of walking and cycling during lockdown and, by quickly and cheaply widening pavements, creating temporary cycle lanes and closing roads to through traffic we will enable millions more people to change the way they get around our city.”