A Sydney council will trial three-dimensional pedestrian crossings in an effort to improve road safety.
Northern Beaches Council will rollout the innovative pedestrian crossings in high traffic areas of Manly – with the trial to start from Sunday.
The innovative crossings are designed to create an optical illusion where the stripes appear to rise up from the pavements, therefore slowing down motorists.
They have been trialled across Europe and America but Manly will be the first New South Wales suburb to welcome the concept.
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New South Wales transport will paint the optical illusion crossings following the removal of three existing pedestrian crossings.
The outback town of Bouila in Queensland was the first in Australia to trial the crossings in 2018, with crossings popping up in Cairns and Melbourne.
The new crossings have received mixed reception on social media, with some worried the optical illusions could cause more hazards.
“I can just imagine a driver seeing this for the first time, slamming the brakes and causing multiple hit-in-rear pile ups,” said one person.
“Looks dangerous to me. People tripping because their brain is telling them to step up and cars approaching slamming on brakes because of the hazard on the road,” said another.
“Motorists will be slamming on brakes when not necessary and pedestrians will be toppling over as they try to negotiate the perceived uneven footing,” added a third.
But others welcomed the move, arguing the new crossings were a creative way to make motorists slow down.
“I like this. It’s fun and creative, it would also certainly make me slow down,” said one person.
“Love it. Noticing it only looks raised up from the driver’s angle. It increases the visibility of the pedestrian to the drivers,” another added.
The trial is expected to last for six months and will assess driver, pedestrian and community behaviour.
If successful, the Northern Beaches Council will consider expanding the trial to other high pedestrian and vehicle traffic areas.
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