£80,000 invested in Puffin crossing facilities for Warrenpoint and Dundrum
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has announced the switching on of new pedestrian PUFFIN crossings on the A2 Seaview, Warrenpoint road and on the A2 Main Street, Dundrum. The Department has invested £40,000 in each of the specialised pedestrian crossings.
Minister Kimmins said:xa0“The locations are popular crossing points on the A2 road, for people accessing schools, sports facilities and local services.
“These crossings will improve road safety for pedestrians, and in particular vulnerable road users such as children, the elderly and those with a disability.”
This is to ensure that crossings are located where there is the greatest demand and where they will provide the most road safety benefit.
The decision to provide PUFFIN Crossings is based upon criteria relating to the number of pedestrians crossing the road and the volume of vehicles using it.
PUFFIN stands for Pedestrian User Friendly Intelligent Crossing. The major differences between PUFFINS and Pelicans are that PUFFINS have the red/green man on the push button unit beside the pedestrian;
There is no flashing amber signal to drivers – they are held on a red signal until pedestrians have completed their crossing and the time for pedestrians to cross the road can be extended by sensors which detect people still on the crossing.
Drivers also benefit from PUFFINS when a pedestrian pushes the push button and then moves away, the demand for the green man is cancelled so drivers do not experience an unnecessary delay.
