PASTORAL heart of England! like a psalm

Of green days telling with a quiet beat--

O wave into the sunset flowing calm!

O tirèd lark descending on the wheat!

Lies it all peace beyond the western fold

Where now the lingering shepherd sees his star

Rise upon Malvern? Paints an Age of Gold

Yon cloud with prophecies of linkèd ease--

Lulling this Land, with hills drawn up like knees,

To drowse beside her implements of war?

 

Man shall outlast his battles. They have swept

Avon from Naseby Field to Savern Ham;

And Evesham's dedicated stones have stepp'd

Down to the dust with Montfort's oriflamme.

Nor the red tear nor the reflected tower

Abides; but yet these elegant grooves remain,

Worn in the sandstone parapet hour by hour

By labouring bargemen where they shifted ropes;

E'en so shall men turn back from violent hopes

To Adam's cheer, and toil with spade again.

 

Ay, and his mother Nature, to whose lap

Like a repentant child at length he hies,

Nor in the whirlwind or the thunder-clap

Proclaims her more tremendous mysteries:

But when in winter's grave, bereft of light,

With still, small voice divinelier whispering

--Lifting the green head of the aconite,

Feeding with sap of hope the hazel-shoot--

She feels God's finger active at the root,

Turns in her sleep, and murmurs of the Spring.

 

'Upon Eckington Bridge, River Avon' is reprinted from

An Anthology of Modern Verse. Ed. A. Methuen.

London: Methuen & Co., 1921.

 

Did you know that there are at least 8 types of pedestrian crossing going from the earliest Zebra to the latest ‘intelligent’ installations? However, not all crossing types are mentioned in the Highway Code!

 

 

Possibly the most easily recognisable of all pedestrian crossings, these have flashing yellow beacons on each side of the road situated on poles painted with alternating black and white segments emulating the painted road crossing markings. The beacons are named after Lord Hore-Belisha – the then Minister of Transport - who introduced them in 1934 following a record number of road casualties in the UK, with 7,343 deaths and 231,603 injuries being recorded.

 

   i.   There are no traffic lights or button controls.

   ii.  Once a pedestrian has placed one foot on the crossing below the kerb,

        drivers must give way and stop.

   iii. Drivers are not permitted to proceed until pedestrians have crossed

        completely and have reached and stepped onto the opposite kerb.

 

Drivers are legally obliged to obey school crossing patrols as part of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Anyone disobeying signals and signs by patrols could face a fine of up to £1,000 and three penalty points on their licence.

 

These are signal-controlled crossings where flashing amber follows the red 'Stop' light

 

   i.   You MUST stop when the red light shows.

   ii.  When the amber light is flashing, you MUST give way to any pedestrians

        already on the crossing.

   iii.  If the amber light is flashing and there are no pedestrians on the crossing,

        you may proceed with caution.

 

The most ‘intelligent’ of all pedestrian crossings in Great Britain these lights have no flashing amber phase, so the lights act and change just like a normal traffic light at a junction.

 

   i.   Infra-red cameras similar to those used to find trapped earthquake victims

        are used on these crossings.  These cameras extend the red-light time so

        elderly or disabled people aren't at risk from oncoming traffic.

   ii.  This system also uses heat sensors to tell if pedestrians are waiting on the

        pavement.

   iii.  It reduces delays to drivers and improves crossing conditions by automatically

        varying the crossing times.

 

In addition to pedestrians, cyclists are permitted to ride across the road.

 

   i.   The lights have no flashing amber phase, so the lights just change like a

        normal traffic light at a junction.

 

The crossing works in the same way as ordinary traffic lights.

 

   i.   For riders there is a high-level push button to operate the crossing.

   ii.  Because this is placed on the traffic-light support post, the horse has to be

        close to the road in order for the button to be pressed.

 

 

Parallel crossings are a combined pedestrian and cycle crossing which has priority over the road which it crosses. They enable cyclists to cross a road safely and with the same level of priority as a Zebra Crossing gives a pedestrian.

 

Parallel crossings are also known as a CYCLOPS crossing, mainly in Manchester, which stands for Cycle Optimised Protected Signals.

 

The crossing looks similar to a Zebra crossing but also includes a cycling crossing area which is parallel to the Zebra crossing area, this is marked by broken white lines. They were first introduced in the UK in 2015.

 

These crossings are rarely seen by drivers but they are numerous and usually found on dual carriageways where a Zebra crossing either can't be constructed or, if it were, would be too dangerous due to the volume and speed of traffic.

 

They are more usually found where a long-established public footpath has been interrupted by the construction of new dual carriageways.  Pedestrians cross one half of the road to a refuge place in the middle to wait to cross the other half. Drivers have priority at these crossing points.

 

There are others, some short-term and temporary e.g., as deviations for road works plus one or two which are specific and permanent such as the set of lights one occasionally sees for cattle crossing.

 

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Finally, for interest, are you aware that whilst using a pedestrian crossing is something many people take for granted, but for the blind and visually impaired it can often feel frightening?

 

Most people will be used to listening out for the bleeping at a pedestrian crossing to indicate that it is safe to cross.  However not all pedestrian crossings have this feature;  an audible signal can also be of little help to pedestrians who also have a hearing impairment.

 

Many pedestrian crossings however actually have useful hidden features to allow people who are blind or are visually impaired to cross safely and independently!  Located on the underside of many pedestrian crossing push button control boxes, you’ll find a small plastic or metal cone. 

 

 

It has easily-felt tactile ridges when the spinning motion, which starts when the green man shows, lets you know it is safe to cross the road. Take a look (and feel) next time!

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