Permanent red for cars: cities give pedestrians priority

Created: 04/12/2022, 08:58

By: Marcus Efler

Red as a permanent state: New traffic lights in two cities.

(Iconic image) © Gottfried Czepluch/Imago

Constant green for pedestrians and driving for cars only when it has to be: after Karlsruhe, Hamburg is also reversing the principle of the push button traffic light.

As the second city after Karlsruhe, Hamburg is now also changing the principle of the pedestrian traffic light with a push button in the Eimsbüttel district.

"For the first time in Hamburg, the classic traffic light prioritization is reversed," announced the Hanseatic city, as reported by 24auto.de: "Pedestrians and cyclists are given priority at the Kaiser-Friedrich-Ufer/Bundesstraße intersection - and thus on one axis, which is heavily frequented by both modes of transport.

Motor vehicle traffic, on the other hand, is given the green light if necessary.”

For the car lanes, on the other hand, the traffic lights show red continuously until a vehicle activates a thermal imaging camera - and thus requests green.

"The traffic light changes after a few seconds," the message says.

With increased car traffic, this should also be green for longer.

A similar change in traffic light switching is planned for four other Hamburg intersections by 2024.