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You are here:home > Environment > Road safety > Pedestrian crossings > Puffin crossings

Puffin crossings

Puffin (pedestrian user friendly intelligent) crossings are an updated version of a pelican crossing. One of the main differences is that the red man/green man indicator is positioned just above the push button and not on the other side of the road. This means that the pedestrian can see the traffic and the red man/green man indicator at the same time. Pedestrians should only cross when the green man is illuminated and all the traffic has stopped. There may also be a bleeping sound to help the visually impaired. Some push button units are also fitted with a tactile knob under the unit which rotates when the green man is illuminated. A puffin crossing does not have a flashing green man for pedestrians or a flashing amber for drivers, instead it displays a red light to both the pedestrian and driver

Zig-zag markings are laid on both the approaches and the exits to the crossing. The zig-zags ban waiting or parking, prohibit vehicles from overtaking each other and warn pedestrians of the increased risk of crossing in the zig-zag area.

In Southampton most new pedestrian crossings are of the puffin type.

Pedestrian crossings, controlled crossings

For a larger, clearer picture of this crossing, please view the PDF document below.

Downloadable documents

Icon Name of file Size Download time
Image Puffin crossing image 795 KB 3secs @ 2Mbps
Link to download Adobe Acrobat if required

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