|
|
|
 |
 |
Pedestrian Signal Sweden uses a "red man, green man" symbol signal. Use of a flashing or clearance interval seems to be a local decision. In Göteborg, there is no flashing interval, while in Skövda, a flashing 'red man' is used. Pedestrian actuation is common and the location of the pushbutton is fairly standard, approximately 0.5-1.0 m from the curb line and near the farthest crosswalk line from the center of the intersection. Pedestrian Signal timing WALK interval is timed according to width of the street using 1 meter per second, with a change interval of about 4 seconds. Pedestrians rarely had to cross more than two lanes without coming to an island or median. Intersection geometry In cities, streets were generally narrow, with lots of islands. In general, medians or islands separated traffic. Most right turn lanes were signalized. Arterials typically have bicycle lanes on both sides of the street. Bicycle lanes are usually signalized separately, using small ball signals and separate pushbutton actuation. There are no curb ramps as such; all curbs at corners are typically 3-4 cm high, which is said to be acceptable to persons with mobility impairments. Overall number was not available. APS are fairly extensively installed in downtown areas. Further out, signals are installed at the request of persons who are blind or visually impaired and may be installed only on some crosswalks of the intersection, depending on the request. APS have been in use in Sweden since the 1960s.
Number of APS Overall number was not available. APS are fairly extensively installed in downtown areas. Further out, signals are installed at the request of persons who are blind or visually impaired and may be installed only on some crosswalks of the intersection, depending on the request. APS have been in use in Sweden since the 1960s. APS functioning There is no Swedish standard for APS, however, most APS have a ticking sound that repeats at 60 pulses per minute for the locator tone and 600 per minute for the WALK interval. The APS is placed on a signal pole or stub pole near the edge of the crosswalk furthest from the intersection, about 0.5 meter from the curb. Signal volume is typically set to be audible 3 meters from the pole. Signals respond to ambient sound, within a range set by the installer. APS can also be set to a constant volume. Each intersection had a number of APS and pedestrian signal heads because there was an APS on each island/median; many medians had an additional pedhead as well. APS differentiated from standard pedestrian pushbutton by different colored panels on the side of the device
A raised tactile arrow on top of the device points across the crosswalk. At median locations where the signal actuated a simultaneous WALK for pedestrians crossing in both directions from the median, arrowheads were on both ends of shaft. Signals were of a type that could include vibrotactile information through a separate button on the bottom of the device. However, that feature was not commonly provided. Additional information Most devices had a crosswalk map feature on the side of the device. The maps were correctly installed, however, Kaj Nordquist of the Swedish Blind Association, stated that most blind people in Sweden only traveled on familiar routes so the tactile maps were not used much. He stated that orientation to new routes is generally available to blind citizens of Sweden.
Comments Although there were a number of APSs at each intersection, it was possible to locate the devices, and use the WALK indication of the device to cross efficiently. Because of the precise location of each APS, the information provided was unambiguous as to which crosswalk had the Walk interval. A pedestrian waiting to cross could always be within arm's reach of the APS, so there was no question regarding which APS was sounding during the Walk interval. Sources of Information Jan Lund, Prisma Teknik, Tibro Roger Peterson, Prisma Teknik, Tibro Bengt Ekdahl, Traffic Engineering, Göteborg Kaj Nordquist, Swedish Blind Society, Stockholm top 
|
| << previous page | next page >> |
 |
This site
was developed under the sponsorship of the National
Cooperative Highway Research Program. |
