Side road zebras - an opportunity for Wales

Pedestrian Safety 

We agree that painting zebra crossings on side roads is shown to significantly improve drivers giving way to pedestrians. This makes it much easier for people to find a gap to walk across these junctions. 

Side road zebras will help to underline the Highway Code changes, to give priority to pedestrians at side roads. We welcome this, but we cannot conclusively affirm side road zebras will increase safety. It should be remembered that crossings in general are not safety features but help pedestrians to get a gap in vehicle traffic to cross the road. Indeed, many pedestrian injuries and deaths happen at crossings, usually due to unsafe vehicle speed on the approaching road. 

Enabling everyday walking and wheeling 

YouGov polling data, commissioned by Living Streets found that 83% of adults would feel more confident crossing the road with zebra markings and 76% of parents said that zebra markings at side roads would mean they would be more likely to walk their children walk to school.  

This, aside findings other studies do suggest the perception of safety may be increased, which may reduce barriers to walking and enable these journeys. 

We agree that implementation of side road zebras should reduce the wait time  for pedestrians when crossing side roads; as well as removal of the additional expense of installing and maintaining ‘Belisha beacons’ will make this a cost-effective option for highways authorities. 

Concerns 

A ‘sticking plaster’ measure in isolation 

Robust guidance is required to ensure side road zebras are applied on suitable junctions, as without inappropriate use of these crossings as a ‘sticking plaster’ measure on wide or busy junctions.  

While side road zebras can be part of improving pedestrian conditions at junctions, for them to be effective it is important to address the main risks from traffic. We recommend using metrics of traffic volume and junction width to direct local authorities to focus on improving these aspects before adding zebra markings.  

Volume of motor traffic turning in and out of a side road junction is a significant factor in how safe and comfortable it will be for pedestrians. We would recommend having a maximum traffic volume limit for locations with side road zebras.  

Width of junction mouth and carriageway is also significant as it influences vehicle speed at the corner. In Living Streets’ Inclusive Design research, we found treatments at side roads worked best for pedestrians when entrances were narrow, ideally a single lane, and with one direction of vehicle movement at a time. 

Reducing carriageway widths at junctions (including considering temporary bolt-down materials) and reducing through-traffic with filters, should be encouraged as ways to meet these requirements and can make more junctions suitable for side road zebras. 

We would also encourage guidance that side road zebras should normally only be used at the junction of a minor road with a more major one, and not at junctions of two minor roads. It should not be necessary to have zebra markings on the many minor junctions within sets of residential streets. 

Accessibility for all 

Side road zebras should not be treated as an alternative to light-controlled crossings or prescribed zebra crossings.  

Drivers must give way to pedestrians on those crossings, whereas a courtesy crossing relies on goodwill and communication between the driver and pedestrian. Negotiation between road users is primarily achieved through visual communication such as, the exchange of looks and gestures.  

Eye contact is impossible for people who have little or no useful sight. As well as missing cues from vehicle drivers or riders, blind people may inadvertently give the wrong message to other road users. Reliance on visual communication may also prove challenging when children are present or for people with neurodevelopment disorders.