Photo: Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth LED pedestrian crossing a UK first
29 November 2021
by Christopher Carey
Portsmouth is the first UK city to benefit from an innovative LED pedestrian crossing aimed at improving road safety.
The LED panels have been installed on the crossing to make it more visible to drivers at night, and are funded by French civil engineering firm Colas – the council’s road contractor.
“We’re always looking for new ways to improve road safety and I’m delighted we’re the first place in the UK to use this innovative new technology,” said Cllr Lynne Stagg, Portsmouth City Council’s Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation.
“We chose this crossing because it’s very busy particularly at night with all the bars and restaurants. We want to make the crossing more visible and encourage more people to cross there safely.”
Be Bright Be Seen
The lights were launched as part of the council’s annual Be Bright Be Seen campaign which encourages people to make sure they have light-coloured or reflective clothing and lights when cycling or walking at night.
“We always tell people to make themselves as visible as possible – it’s a really simple way to improve safety and lighting up this crossing is a great example of how that can work,” Cllr Stagg added.
Ian Gibson, Director of Asset Contracting at Colas, said: “We are delighted Portsmouth City Council is leading the way in innovative solutions to improve the road safety and street scene by using the Flowell system developed by Colas.
“This is another demonstration of the collaborative works between the council and Colas brought by the PFI [private finance initiative] project for the benefit of Portsmouth residents and visitors. It is a first in the UK and we are looking forward to sharing the results of this trial within the industry.”
In 2009, Portsmouth became the first British city to implement a 20mph speed limit on almost all residential roads to reduce road casualties and protect pedestrians and cyclists.
Clean Air Zone
From today, the city’s new Clean Air Zone (CAZ) will come into force, with drivers of polluting taxis and private hire vehicles facing a £10 fee (US$13.30), and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), buses and coaches liable for a £50 daily charge.
The council says traffic congestion contributes to over 50 percent of air pollution, and action was needed to reduce the number of polluting vehicles entering the city.
Drivers can pay the charge six days before and up to six days after entering the zone, and anyone who fails to pay within this period will face a £120 fine.
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras will monitor vehicles in the zone, which covers an area in the south of the city.
Commercial vehicles that will be charged include those that do not conform to Euro 6 emission standards, and petrol vehicles that do not meet Euro 4 emission standards.
Private cars, motorcycles and vans are not included in the CAZ, however.
Image: Portsmouth City Council
