Minister for Roads and Freight Duncan Gay today announced new intersection signals for pedestrians had been installed at six busy Sydney intersections to try and improve road safety.

Mr Gay said the new timers would provide more information to enable pedestrians to better judge how much time they have to cross the road.

“From today, pedestrians at busy intersections around Sydney will notice brand new pedestrian lights, which replace the flashing red signal with yellow countdown timers,” Mr Gay said.

“The timers appear after the green signal phase and display the number of seconds pedestrians have to cross a road before the red “don’t walk” signal appears.

“By providing time information to pedestrians, it will reduce the number of people trying to cross the road too late and risking their lives.

“In particular, they will be of great assistance to our less mobile members of the community, allowing them to make more informed choices as to when it is safe to cross the road.

“It’s an exciting change for Sydney, we’re joining a long list of countries that successfully use countdown timers including in places such as New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Los Angeles and New Zealand.

“As a start, we’ll trial the new timers for two months and monitor pedestrian behaviour. Pedestrians can look out for the new timers at the following intersections:

· Pitt and Goulburn Streets (Sydney CBD)

· Park and Pitt Streets (Sydney CBD)

· Elizabeth and Market Streets (Sydney CBD)

· Victoria Avenue and Archer Street (Chatswood)

· Campbell and Marsden Streets (Parramatta)

· Parkes and Station Streets (Parramatta)

“This is just one of a number of measures the NSW Government has introduced to improve pedestrian safety, which also includes the introduction of a 40km/h speed limit in the Sydney CBD.

“Pedestrians are also reminded they need to play their part by obeying the signals and getting their hand off their mobile phone when crossing the road.

“I thank the Pedestrian Council of Australia, the NSW Police Force, NRMA and local councils for their support in getting this trial off the ground,” Mr Gay said.