Thursday March 26th 2026
Pedestrian crossing (photo by Euronewsweek Media)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Joe Sullivan
Some traffic signals in Edinburgh have been changed to give pedestrians more opportunities to cross.
According to a report before councillors next Thursday, the timings of all individual pedestrian crossings had been checked and reviewed by city staff.
It adds that, wherever possible, waiting times for pedestrians have been reduced to 20 seconds upon a crossing button being pressed.
Some 93% of the 378 standalone pedestrian crossings in the city now have a 20 second maximum wait time.
The report further stated that two signalised junctions had been upgraded by the city in the past six months.
The works, at Dalkeith Road and East Preston Street and at Gilmore Place and Viewforth Terrace, aimed to reduce pedestrian waiting times.
In addition, they looked to increase crossing opportunities at school travel times and ‘improve signal timings’.
The report added that officers would strive to reduce crossing waiting times to 20 seconds wherever possible.
In addition, it stated a programme to refurbish traffic signals in the city was underway.
Further, it stated that the city would explore introducing puffin and toucan crossings instead of pelican through the programme where possible.
Pelican crossings have the pedestrian crossing sign on a pole opposite to the button pressed to request the lights go red.
Meanwhile, puffin crossings have the pedestrian crossing sign above the crossing button, and have ‘intelligent’ systems to make the crossing safer and more efficient.
They can detect if pedestrians are crossing slowly, holding the red signal for longer, and can also abandon a crossing request if it notices a pedestrian has walked off from the crossing.
Meanwhile, toucan crossings accommodate both bicycles and pedestrians.
Councillors are set to note the report during the Transport and Environment Committee meeting on Thursday, April 2.
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