Citation

Lockwood DN, Ribbens H. Traffic Eng. Control 1990; 31(2): 72-75.

Affiliation

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, Hemming Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Signal-controlled midblock pedestrian crossings have been in use for some time in South Africa. However, if operated on a fixed-time basis, these can be wasteful and inefficient. Pelican crossings are widely used in the U.K. and to some extent in Western Australia and South Africa. Two crossings in Roodepoort, near Johannesburg, were converted from fixed-time to Pelican crossings, and a before-and-after study was undertaken to assess the benefits to traffic and safety. This article considers the traffic and safety benefits at these crossings in developing countries. Considerable savings were measured: 60 per cent reduction in stops, 87 per cent reduction in delay and 65 per cent reduction in stopped delay on weekdays. With regard to safety, a 30 per cent reduction in conflict potential was measured and no road collisions were recorded in the 'after' study. Several rear-end collisions, however, occurred during the 'before' study period. Pelican crossings offer both operating and safety advantages and are suitable for use in developing countries.