Monday, November 02, 2009
X marks the spot!
Bumbling London Mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled a pedestrian crossing by striking a cymbal. In homage to its Far Eastern inspiration, Mr Johnson struck a two-metre high cymbal as Japanese musicians played taiko drums. Mr Johnson said the crossing, controlled by traffic lights, was "a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old fashioned common sense".
So, where is this alleged triumph of British engineering? This pedestrian crossing is across Oxford Circus in the heart of London. It is very different from other pedestrian crossings because people can not just walk from one side to the other but they can walk diagonally in an "X". Based on crossings in Tokyo, the new design stops traffic in all directions, then people can cross by whichever route is best for them. The £5m junction is able to handle double the number of pedestrians and ease overcrowding at the busy intersection.
Now, for something so obvious, why did someone in power not think of this before? Just look at the extra flow you can get through the junction, with no extra delay imposed against anyone. There are lots of junctions throughout our country where people are left waiting because of bad traffic management. People are held back for no good reason because of bad design. It does not matter whether people are on foot or in vehicles. It is bad design to hold people back when the junction is clear but this is often the case in most of our cities. You notice this wasted capacity most in late evenings and early morning. I agree with Boris that this is the way forward and good old fashioned common sense.
Bumbling London Mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled a pedestrian crossing by striking a cymbal. In homage to its Far Eastern inspiration, Mr Johnson struck a two-metre high cymbal as Japanese musicians played taiko drums. Mr Johnson said the crossing, controlled by traffic lights, was "a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old fashioned common sense".
So, where is this alleged triumph of British engineering? This pedestrian crossing is across Oxford Circus in the heart of London. It is very different from other pedestrian crossings because people can not just walk from one side to the other but they can walk diagonally in an "X". Based on crossings in Tokyo, the new design stops traffic in all directions, then people can cross by whichever route is best for them. The £5m junction is able to handle double the number of pedestrians and ease overcrowding at the busy intersection.
Now, for something so obvious, why did someone in power not think of this before? Just look at the extra flow you can get through the junction, with no extra delay imposed against anyone. There are lots of junctions throughout our country where people are left waiting because of bad traffic management. People are held back for no good reason because of bad design. It does not matter whether people are on foot or in vehicles. It is bad design to hold people back when the junction is clear but this is often the case in most of our cities. You notice this wasted capacity most in late evenings and early morning. I agree with Boris that this is the way forward and good old fashioned common sense.
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