The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to improving safety for everyone on our roads.
A trial of new crossing light countdown timers means pedestrians in Hobart and Launceston will soon know how long they have left to cross some of their busiest streets.
The new countdown timers will replace the flashing red person that means ‘don’t start to cross’, and will help pedestrians make more informed crossing decisions.
The green pedestrian light still indicates it’s safe to cross, and the static red pedestrian light still indicates that it is not safe to cross.
We want everyone to be safe on our roads whether they are in a car or simply crossing the road, and the data gained from this trial will be used to determine if and how the timers impacted pedestrian behaviour and how we can further improve safety at pedestrian crossings.
Importantly, the assistance beeps and vibrations will not change, and the new timers will not change traffic movements.
The installation of the trial crossing lights will begin Monday 23 October.
The three Hobart sites are:
The three sites in Launceston are:
The sites were selected because of the high volume of foot traffic and no left or right turning vehicles.
The trial will continue until the end of 2017 and is funded by the Road Safety Levy under the Road Safety 2017-2019 Work Program.
A short video about the trial is available at www.transport.tas.gov.au.