GLASGOW schoolkids will now be able to stop traffic to help them get across the road safely while on their bikes in what is believed to be a game-changing UK-first.
A mobile wireless transmitter that can send a signal to a traffic light at a busy junction to make it stay on red for longer is now being used by the city council's Shawlands Bike Bus initiative.
The scheme escorts a large group of children to Shawlands Primary School in the city's southside every Friday morning.
And this neat device will allow them to pass through Shawlands Cross junction safely without having to try and beat the lights.
The new transmitter has been mounted to the lead rider’s bike and uses a military-grade encrypted signal that, when pressed on approach to the junction, sets a specially-timed traffic light cycle in motion to hold traffic for 45 seconds.
Up to now, children have had huge issues getting across the junction in time with cars getting too close and sounding their horns.
Gareth Johnson, one of the organisers of the Shawlands Bike Bus, said: “Ultimately we’d like safe segregated cycle infrastructure so all children in Glasgow that want to can safely cycle to school, but in the interim, we are extremely grateful to the council for providing this new bit of technology.
“The junction is really busy, and with a lot of young children on our bike bus, giving us that little bit of extra time to safely navigate the junction is a game-changer for us.”
The traffic delay signal is only accepted by a unit mounted on a traffic pole at the approximate time it is needed on Friday mornings, meaning it cannot be used in other parts of the city to stop cars at different times as things stand.
Glasgow City Council is in talks with parents from six other schools in the city hoping to create similar cycling initiatives, according to the i Paper.
Councillor Angus Millar, the city’s climate convener, added: “This bit of kit is a fairly simple solution to a road safety problem that is probably experienced in cities up and down the country.
“I hope that what we’ve developed for Glasgow can be replicated to help similar bike bus schemes.”
