Changes have been made to a pedestrian crossing at the busy Addenbrooke’s roundabout in Cambridge to improve accessibility in the area.

The traffic system has been using buttons which – like the majority of pedestrian traffic systems across the country – must be physically pushed to activate. However, this can be difficult to use for people with some disabilities, such as Parkinson’s disease.

But now, contactless push buttons to control the traffic signals have been installed at one arm of the roundabout’s crossings which can be activated by holding a hand underneath the push button box.

If the trial is deemed to be a success, more contactless boxes may be installed when new crossings are built or existing crossings are refurbished.

Member of Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee, Cllr Neil Shailer, said: “We want to make sure our county is accessible to everyone and this is one step we can take to help achieve this.

“I’m very pleased to see that this will help make the pedestrian crossing at the Addenbrooke’s roundabout more accessible, and if it is as successful as we hope it will be, I’d like to see more across the county.”

(Picture – SRL)