The wait for the green man at these lights is unbearably slow – and then you only have 10 seconds to race across the road. But I did get a nice reply from the council when I complained, writes Adrian Chiles
The wait for the green man at these lights is unbearably slow – and then you only have 10 seconds to race across the road. But I did get a nice reply from the council when I complainedhave mixed feelings about traffic lights. When they are green, I like them; on red, not so much. And the longer they stay on red, the more annoyed I get. That is if I’m in a car. If I’m on foot, my rage ratchets up with every second of red man.
As you wait to cross Queen Street, wondering if the green man will ever show himself again, your plans for the day wither away, along with your hopes and dreams. You won’t be going wherever you are heading, today or any other day. No, you will spend it here, on this street corner, outside the Windmill Inn. You could probably pop in, drink a pint of ale, eat a bag of crisps, use the toilet and come out to find the green man still hasn’t appeared.
And then it happens. The green man appears. And after all that wait, you get about 10 seconds with him before he vanishes again. The people who live here know this, of course, so they are out of the traps like greyhounds. Some of the younger ones might bring sprinters’ starting blocks to get going even quicker. And older pedestrians demonstrate an impressive turn of pace, conditioned as they are by years of practice at this spot.
The last time I was there, I lingered awhile, stopwatch in hand. I clocked the time between green men as 2 minutes 7.39 seconds, and the time with the green man at around 10 seconds. I reckon the road is about 10 metres wide. OK, a pace of one metre a second won’t win you an Olympic medal, but it’s still quite a big ask.
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