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There are four main types of road crossing to choose from if you want to make it easier to cross the road.
They each have a significantly different cost, and have good points and bad points.
It's important to find the right crossing for the road and your budget.
If possible, crossings should always be located at the point where most pedestrians want to cross the road.
This could be where there are shops or a pathway opposite.
In this video, we'll examine these four crossing types in more detail.
Puffin crossings are most suited to busier roads with a lot of pedestrian users and vehicle traffic.
Puffin crossings intelligently adjust the crossing times for pedestrians depending on how fast they are walking.
This is really useful for the elderly or disabled people.
Puffin crossings are probably the safest type of crossing, but they are the most expensive by a large margin.
Pelican crossings are the older style of light controlled crossing.
They do not extend the crossing times for people on the crossing, and the pedestrian signal is located on the opposite side of the road.
This makes the crossing more difficult to use for slower pedestrians or partially sighted people.
Pelican crossings are no longer installed in Bristol.
Zebra crossings are a significantly cheaper crossing type, and they can still be suitable for roads which have a lot of pedestrian users and vehicle traffic.
They should be installed where visibility is good, so drivers can see if pedestrians are waiting, and pedestrians can see if vehicles are stopping.
Statistically, Zebra crossings are only marginally less safe than Puffin crossings, and for most pedestrians they are the quickest way to cross a road.
However, disabled people, and particularly blind people find Zebra crossings far more difficult to use in comparison to Puffin crossings.
Slower crossing pedestrians can also feel intimidated by stopping vehicles.
Pedestrian refuge islands are most suited to roads with moderate to low levels of vehicle traffic.
On roads without crossings, installing a refuge island has a very positive effect on pedestrian safety,
and refuge islands are the cheapest of all the crossing designs.
Refuge Islands require pedestrians to accurately judge traffic speeds, and cross at the right time, before a car passes -
this can make it especially difficult for elderly, child, or disabled pedestrians.