In article ,
Mike Barnes writes:
In uk.d-i-y, Invisible Man wrote:
The local authority recently changed a puffin to a pelican near us
after at least one fatal accident apparently because some elderly
persons are lost without a red or green man the other side of the road.
In busy areas it is often impossible to see the lower level signals if
there is a crowd waiting to cross.

Well, yes. There's a reason why traffic lights are placed so high. It's
a pity that it never occurred to anyone that the same reason applies to
pedestrian lights.

I can't see the point of moving the red/green man from the other side of
the road to this side. I can think of no advantages but *lots* of
disadvantages.

Reasons were given in the various Puffin crossing docs I read.
Pedestrians are looking in the direction of the oncoming traffic,
and more likely to spot a vehicle which isn't going to stop.
Crossing only wants to signal to pedestrians which haven't started
crossing. Once they've started crossing, the crossing monitors
their progress and has no need to give them any signals.
There are Puffin crossings with low and high pedestrian signals
on the same pole.

(Remember the crossing scene in "Rain Man", albeit american?)

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]