Kudos: Pedestrian Countdown Conversion

We give the City a lot of grief, often for good reason, so I think it is important to acknowledge when the City does something well.

Recently, the city started converting old incadescent traffic lights and pedestrian signals to LED lights, saving a great deal of energy. At the same time, the city has been looking at the idea of pedestrian countdown signals, which have been installed in other cities – instead of a flashing hand, the signal indicates how much more time there is to cross before the light turns amber. They have been shown to reduce the number of pedestrians still in the crossing lane when lights turn, making crossing safer and  improving flow. (And studies show they don’t increase the number of cars running the amber light — I asked.)

City of Toronto staff cleverly noted that these two initiatives could be combined (PDF) at no cost. Converting to single-box LED lights from double-box incandescent ped signals requires extra work to change the supporting arms. By instead adding double-box LED lights with a countdown signal, the existing arm fittings can be used — and the saved labour costs make up for the additional cost of the extra box.

By combining the programs, the City is saving energy and improving pedestrian safety at no cost to the city, in the long term (if energy savings are taken into account). It’s too bad the city didn’t pick up on this right at the beginning of the LED conversion program (eventually the single-box LEDs will have to be replaced). But kudos to staff for noticing the possibility of improving pedestrian amenities at no cost soon after the LED program began, and to Council for passing the new program quickly.