Movement for change Reduce the waiting time at controlled crossings
A law was passed a few decades ago to make it an offense to jaywalk. All pedestrians have to go to a controlled crossing and wait for the green man to appear before crossing the road. 

This law was implemented badly.

Why?

The planners created controlled crossings without proper regard for the convenience of the pedestrians.

I use a pedestrian crossing near my home. On many occasions, the road was clear but the red man appeared. I have to wait for up to 2 minutes for the green man to appear, and cross only half the road. 

I have to wait again for the green man to appear on the other half of the road. It may take another 2 minutes.

Why does it take so long for the green man to appear when the road is obviously clear of traffic? Perhaps the planner was trying to synchronize with the traffic light down the road. Really?

Can they handle the algorithm in a more sensible manner? If they make a mistake in the algorithm, are the pedestrians expected to waste their time every day in waiting to cross the road?

If they are able to synchronize the timing of the green man, can they work on both sides of the road? Surely, if the pedestrian cross half the road, he will need to cross the other half almost immediately. Why force the pedestrian to wait another two minutes to cross the other half?

Initially, I observed the law on jay walking. I waited for the green man to appear. 

After being delayed, for no apparent reason, for a few months, I decided to cross the road when the traffic is light, even though the red man appears. I was not booked for jay walking. It seemed that the law on jay walking is not being enforced. 

What happened after I crossed? The green man appear later and the vehicles have to stop without any pedestrian using the crossing. It is crazy, but nobody cares.

I have observed that some controlled crossings in other parts of Singapore appear to respond more quickly than the crossings that I used. Perhaps, the algorithms used are different?

What is a better system? The green man should appear within half a minute. I do not think that it will inconvenience the motorists. 

I have seen controlled crossings in other cities that appear quite soon after the button is pressed. Somehow, the algorithms used in controlled crossings in Singapore do not respect the convenience of the pedestrians. They  give preference to the motorists.

Tan Kin Lian

Vote - do you agree that the controlled crossings should be reviewed to reducing the waiting time for pedestrians?



 

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