A new sound has started ringing out at intersections in central Auckland.
Auckland Transport is rolling out a new crossing sound at what are called Barnes Dance pedestrian crossings.
These are crossings where all traffic is stopped, allowing pedestrians to cross in every direction, including diagonally.
Traffic systems engineer for Auckland Transport Kipi Paea said the change is “about trying to distinguish between the two [different types of] crossings”.
“We’re trying to see whether or not people distinguish between the two sounds, one sound for Barnes Dance crossings and the other, the current sound, for all other standard crossings,” Mr Paea said.
Operations manager for road policing Inspector Peter McKennie said in a statement that the vast majority of pedestrian injuries or deaths can be avoided.
“The main risk factors are pedestrians are not paying attention to the traffic, being distracted by mobile phones, wearing headphones and not hearing the traffic,” Inspector McKennie said.
Mr Paea said the main reason for the change is because pedestrians have been walking out into traffic thinking it was a Barnes Dance crossing.
“We’ve got intersections like the Barnes Dance crossings where people hear the sound and then just walk onto the road, but other intersections and just standard intersections where crossings run at different times.”
Auckland Transport has been praised for seeking feedback from the Blind Foundation before installing the new sound.
Access and awareness manager for the Blind Foundation Chris Orr said he hopes standards set by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for the current sound are kept with the new chirp.
“We want to make sure the sound is loud enough, and that the person can still go up to it and touch the vibration pad, all those things that are needed to meet the [NZTA] standards.”
Despite being consulted on the sound, the Blind Foundation is yet to hear it in action.
The new sound has been installed at the Queen St and Quay St and Queen St and Customs St intersections for three weeks.
Mr Paea said feedback had been mixed.
“A lot of people tend to rely on a sound, rather than noticing a difference,” he said.
The number of Barnes Dance crossings in the central city has increased by three over the last few weeks after more were introduced to help manage foot traffic during the City Rail Link construction.
The new sound will eventually be rolled out to all Barnes Dance crossings in the central city.
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By Andrew Hallberg
Sources:
Kipi Paea // Traffic Systems Engineer, Auckland Transport // 09 447 4052
Inspector Peter McKennie // Operations Manager for Road Policing // Contact through Shelley Nahr – 021 595 562
Chris Orr // Access and Awareness Manager, Blind Foundation // 021 762 011
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