The Transport Department (TD) announced that the works for diagonal crossings at the junction of Sha Kok Street and Yat Tai Street in Sha Tin have been completed and that the crossings are open for use today (January 31).
Diagonal crossings are marked with diagonal yellow stripes at signalised junctions and retrofitted with traffic signals so that pedestrians can walk directly to a diagonal corner via the centre of the junction, thus reducing the walking distance and saving time.
Diagonal crossings require longer pedestrian green signals than traditional crossings to allow pedestrians to cross the junction safely because the walking distances are longer and pedestrian central refuge areas cannot be provided. As the traffic flow at junctions in Hong Kong is relatively heavy, the characteristics of individual junctions, including factors such as traffic and pedestrian flows, the crossing distance and time required, need to be carefully examined to ensure that adequate vehicular capacity can still be maintained at signalised junctions after the provision of diagonal crossings to avoid causing serious impact on the overall traffic.
The TD has earlier reviewed the need of pedestrians to cross the road diagonally at the junctions of Sha Kok Street and Yat Tai Street in Sha Tin, and at Carnarvon Road and Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, as well as considering the traffic and pedestrian flows, and the necessary signal equipment required for setting up diagonal crossings at these two junctions. Upon assessment, it was considered that these two junctions are suitable for trials of diagonal crossings. The associated works for diagonal crossings at the junction of Carnarvon Road and Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui will be completed in mid-2024.
The TD will closely monitor and assess the usage of these two junctions by pedestrians and motorists to review the performance of the diagonal crossings and then consider the future direction.
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