To cross or not to cross. The Pedestrian Countdown trial.

The green man’s gone off, the traffic’s still on red but for how much longer exactly?

A new scheme being trialled outside Holborn station could make crossing the road safer for everyone. The idea behind the Pedestrian Countdown is simple. Instead of blacking out completely, the green man light switches to a visual countdown showing you exactly how many seconds you have left to cross before the red man lights up

The scheme could benefit everyone. Pedestrians can feel reassured that they still have time to cross and traffic flow should be smoother with fewer pedestrians being tempted to make a last-minute dash for it. And, of course, the rotating cones and beeping signal for the visually impaired will remain.

Pedestrian Countdown is being tested at eight junctions in London and the fifth to go live will be in High Holborn outside Holborn Station at the junction with Kingsway and Southampton Row. The trial is scheduled to last for up to 18 months to allow TfL to make an assessment as to whether the scheme should be rolled out across the capital.