From Hildburg Bruns
Traffic light disputes are actually known from the federal government’s red-yellow-green system. But in the Berlin CDU/SPD Senate, two senators are also flashing differently when it comes to the introduction of so-called countdown traffic lights: one is in favor of the introduction of second traffic lights, the other is in favor of new bar traffic lights.
Transport Senator Manja Schreiner (45, CDU) has pushed forward with her idea of introducing zebra crossing technology when new traffic lights are regularly converted or installed.
If the red man lights up, a middle field with decreasing bars shows how much time is left to cross. For example, there is already a traffic light on Brunnenstrasse.
Favorite of Transport Senator Manja Schreiner (45, CDU): Bar countdown. This is what a countdown traffic light that was already tested in Mitte looked like Photo: Michael Hübner
During her visit to Berlin’s twin city Jakarta, Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (45, SPD) showed a different preference: instead of bars, she wants a second counter. Giffey: “The translation process in the brain is simpler. It is a signal that is quicker to understand and is used internationally. For example in London too.“
Why the change at all? “The countdown signal is intended to ensure that pedestrians receive information about the duration of their clearance time, i.e. how long they can safely cross the road,” says Constanze Siedenburg, spokeswoman for the traffic administration.
And further: “There are a lot of inquiries and complaints from pedestrians who complain that the green time is supposedly too short and therefore do not consider the crossing to be safe. At the same time, the countdown signal is also an indication to the vehicle traffic that has been released at the same time that pedestrian traffic still has time to clear the road.”
Ten years ago, Berlin had already tested three different types of traffic lights. At that time, Senate experts sorted out the second idea. Reason: With numbers you would have to count down from different numbers of seconds – depending on how wide the road is.
But the decreasing zebra crossing also caused confusion during the test: “In the report on the model project, with regard to the evaluations of the countdown signal, it was found that there was a certain degree of uncertainty among those surveyed regarding the interpretation of the additional signal. However, when used citywide, the functionality of the signal can be proactively communicated.”