Something I've noticed over the last few years is that pedestrian crossings are getting wider. Only some of them, and only when junction upgrades are being carried out, but the direction of travel is towards having more tarmac to cross.
A lot of the time it's because cyclists need more space. That's fine, indeed a totally worthy priority, but an unintended consequence is a greater distance between pavements.
One time this phenomenon became obvious was during the upgrade of Cycle Superhighway 2 five years ago. Moving from a blue stripe painted on the road to a proper segregated cycle lane required narrowing pavements and removing central reservations, and suddenly there was a lot more road to cross. In some places, such as by the East London Mosque or St Clements Hospital, a huge extra traffic light now spans the road to help ensure all vehicles stop.
What it's done is transform a crossing from one you might be able to nip across to one you probably can't. When there are four lanes and the traffic's not busy a gap sometimes presents itself and off you go. When there are six and you're starting from further back that happens less often and launching off the kerb presents more risk.
It happened last year at the northern tip of the Olympic Park where Temple Mills Lane meets Ruckholt Road. The upgraded junction provided more space for cyclists but also removed various traffic islands in favour of one large central tarmac expanse. Previously it took two goes to cross Temple Mills Lane and both halves were simple to cross but now the chasm is three lanes wide and best not attempted in case a lorry turns unexpectedly.
If you're an angelic pedestrian who always waits and presses the button it doesn't make much difference. But if you're less patient it now means waiting up to 105 seconds for the lights to change, whereas previously the first half probably had stationary traffic and the second half was easy to zip across, 20 seconds tops. These broader junctions tend to be programmed with a single green man phase when all the traffic stops, i.e. one big rush rather than several interleaving trickles.
A similar change has happened this year at Aldwych thanks to a major pedestrianisation scheme by Westminster council. Previously the junction outside St Clement Danes was a mishmash of lanes and islands with each arm individually signalled, sometimes in two parts. That's all now been swept away in favour of one large crossroads, one side of which isn't even a through road any more, and the only safe thing to do is wait for the lights to change.
I used to be able to weave across this junction in dashable spurts and be away in seconds, having got the hang of how all the timings lined up, but that's no longer an option. I shouldn't have been doing that. I should have been waiting for each individual red man to turn green before moving onto the next part of the sequence, but I am not one to wait when nothing's coming, nor when an obviously sufficient gap ensures no chance of collision. With the new layout I wait with everyone else and so it takes longer.
I am what I once described as a guerrilla pedestrian, one who doesn't wait on ceremony if there's no need. I realise I'm fortunate to be in this position - not held up by a disability, a small child or another encumbrance - but if I see an opportunity I take it. And a lot of people are far worse guerrilla pedestrians than me, dashing into traffic or failing to check the lights before heading headlong into the road because they intend to cross whatever.
It strikes me that these new wider junctions are optimised for angelic rather than guerrilla pedestrians, because of course they are. An angelic pedestrian isn't held up by waiting once, indeed the removal of a staggered crossing may help them cross more swiftly with less intermediate hassle. But a less patient pedestrian is much more likely to be inconvenienced and their progess significantly slowed compared to how they'd have crossed before.
As for a true guerrilla pedestrian who's crossing anyway, a wider junction merely increases the width in which they might get knocked down. It doesn't matter that a safe means has been provided, they won't be hanging around to use it. And the more wide junctions London has, the more danger not-perfectly-angelic pedestrians are in. There are a lot of us and our ability to cross roads is getting inexorably worse.
Wider crossings now seem to be the generic solution at any revamped junction, for example the removal of gyratories in Stratford, Islington, Elephant & Castle and the former Old Street roundabout. Ironically wider crossings require longer crossing times which also slows the traffic down. But what they're really doing is creating tarmac chasms that are much harder for pedestrians to cross except during a brief appointed period, and increasing risk for anyone who attempts to go it alone.
It's all very well designing junctions for the angelic, but the general public generally isn't.
