This afternoon a County traffic engineer very helpfully explained to Ruth and to elderly residents how the toucan crossing works at the top of Latimer Road.

The ‘green man’ light appears and noise sounds for just 7 seconds, then the lights stay on red for traffic for a further 16 seconds but the green man and the sounds disappear during that time. Then there is a further 3 seconds when the lights will remain red if the camera sensors pick up movement

Residents find this confusing, as they are used to the green man light ‘flashing’ when the lights are about to change – this is a feature of pelican lights

The County Officer will let us know whether tactile cones can be installed under the pedestrian control box. He will also tell us who to contact for more information on whether the toucan can become a pelican (!) and whether there is sufficient room for a central crossing refuge

It’s heartening to see a County officer making a site visit and working proactively  to explain traffic systems in this way