In a move to strengthen the pedestrian security on roads, Navi Mumbai’s civic body has deployed push buttons at traffic intersection points that will allow pedestrians to change the traffic signal to “pedestrian walk signs” and cross roads. This is the first time a city in India has been facilitated with this technology that gives control to the pedestrians, a media report has said.
The pedestrian push buttons installed on the traffic signal poles are a part of walkability project by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, reports Hindustan Times. The buttons have been attached at the traffic junctions near D Mart and Swami Vivekanand Chowk in Khopar Khairane area.
In addition, these push buttons have also been installed on the traffic signal poles at Swami Samarth Chowk, Purushottam Khedkar Chowk in the Airoli area and on Thane-Belapur Road that is near Mukund company, near Bharat Bijlee and Rabale junction vicinities. All the four sides of a traffic junction will have pedestrian push buttons installed.
The new pedestrian push buttons were installed on Wednesday and are expected to be activated within two days. The main idea to implement this technology at the traffic junctions is to ensure that the roads near schools, hospitals get decongested at the time when there are more pedestrians waiting to cross the road.
“At the time of school opening and closing in the morning, afternoon and evening, we see a large number of students and residents, especially women at the traffic signals near schools, wanting to cross the busy roads. Senior citizens, pregnant women and physically challenged persons too face problems of crossing roads at busy junctions,” municipal commissioner Ramaswamy N was quoted as saying in the report.
