The NSW government is trialling pedestrian crossing signals that replace the ‘‘don’t walk’’ sign with a countdown.
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The two-month trial started on Monday and takes place at three intersections in the Sydney CBD, one in Chatswood and two in Parramatta.
Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the flashing red pedestrian signal at these six intersections would be replaced with a yellow countdown timer.
‘‘The timers appear after the green signal phase and display the number of seconds pedestrians have to cross a road before the red ‘don’t walk’ signal appears,’’ Mr Gay said.
‘‘By providing time information to pedestrians, it will reduce the number of people trying to cross the road too late and risking their lives.
“In particular, they will be of great assistance to our less mobile members of the community, allowing them to make more informed choices as to when it is safe to cross the road.’’
Mr Gay also said the countdown timers were used successfully in in places such as New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Los Angeles and New Zealand.
He said pedestrians have a role to play in the trial.
‘‘Pedestrians are also reminded they need to play their part by obeying the signals and getting their hand off their mobile phone when crossing the road,’’ Mr Gay said.
A spokeswoman for Mr Gay said if the trial was successful the department would consider installing the lights at other busy and high-risk locations in NSW.