The green man at road crossings in the UK will be illuminated for longer for the “less-fit” population.
According to updated Department for Transport (DfT) regulations, the light will stay on for 20 per cent longer than it already does in order to provide those with mobility problems with adequate time to cross the street and “to encourage walking and make journeys safer”.
The plan’s creator and executive DfT agency, Active Travel England (ATE), announced the green man alteration.
As the time allocated for crossing the road grows from 6.1 seconds to 7.3 seconds, the Government will hope that the move lowers the likelihood of major accidents.
Although they are already being used in a test programme, modifications to the length of time the green man will be lit up will be made public in September.
“Many pieces of infrastructure are designed with the typical person in mind, but more and more individuals are being left out, therefore we need to address this,” said ATE CEO Brian Deegan.
“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.”
According to a 2012 University of College London (UCL) study, 76 per cent of men and 85 per cent of women over 65 failed to cross the road in a timely manner.
Participants in the Health Survey for England were found to walk at an average speed of 0.9 metres per second for older males and 0.8 metres per second for older women, which is considerably slower than the 1.2 metres per second required to cross a street in the UK.
While Britons have generally become “slower” in recent years. Since 1993, the proportion of adults in England who are overweight or obese has risen from 52.9 per cent to 64.3 per cent, and the proportion who are obese has risen from 14.9 per cent to 28 per cent, according to government statistics.
People with disabilities and mobility issues also have difficulty crossing within the time limit.
