To improve safety for the pedestrians in Singapore, Land Transport Authority (LTA) installed Light Emitting Diode (LED) strips on the pavements at two major crossings of the city. This measure has been taken to test whether these LED strips help in getting distracted pedestrians to pay attention to traffic light signals.
The light strips have been installed at two pedestrian crossings-located at the junction of Buyong Road and Orchard Road, near the Istana; and the Victoria Street crossing outside Bugis Junction.
“These crossings were chosen as they are located near popular amenities frequented by a high volume of pedestrians across different demographics, such as youth and elderly pedestrians,” said LTA in a press release.
These light strips are embedded in pavements near the edge of the crossing, and operate in unison with the pedestrian traffic lights to switch between steady green, flashing green and steady red signals. When the Green-man signal is on to indicate pedestrians’ right of way, the light strips will show a steady green. When the lights are about to change, the strips will adopt the flashing green signal to warn pedestrians that it is unsafe to proceed. When the Red-man signal is on, the light strips will be steady red to draw the attention of pedestrians, warning them not to cross.
The six-month trial will allow LTA to study whether the LED light strips are useful in encouraging pedestrians to focus on the traffic signals at pedestrian crossings, and whether they are suitable for Singapore’s local context and climate. Site observations and analysis, as well as public perception surveys will be conducted during the trial period to seek the public’s views on the light strips’ effectiveness