Plea over crossings' silent danger

Morris Evans, 79, can't see the green man showing when it is safe to cross.

Normally he can still use pelican crossings because of the sound they make.

But not at the Clock Tower junction, where he has to negotiate a series of crossings on the way to visiting his son.

He said: "They don't make a sound like other crossings.

"I have to wait at the side of the road and call out to ask if anyone is there and if it is safe."

Mr Evans, who lives with his wife, Evelyn, 71, in Hove, said: "The council should make it so blind people can use the crossings."

Mr Evans called Brighton and Hove City Council to complain. He was told there were several crossings at the junction and having sound alerts could be dangerous.

He said: "I was told the crossings are so close together, if they made a noise it would be difficult to tell which was safe to cross.

"They should make it so the button you press on the post vibrates or something when it is safe to cross."

A spokesman for the Royal National Institute for the Blind confirmed other cities in Britain had installed user-friendly pelican crossings for the visually impaired.

He said: "On the box where you press the button, there is a cone under the button, which rotates when it is safe to cross.

"The blind or partially-sighted person puts the palm of their hand on it and when it rotates they know they can cross."

A spokesman for the city council said tactile cones for the blind had been installed on some crossings during upgrading work.

He said there was a problem with upgrading the crossings at the Clock Tower because the main box, which operated the signals, was at capacity and could not have any more electrical demands made on it.

He said: "However, that box will be moved quite soon.

"It has got to be moved when the Quadrant redevelopment starts and we will then upgrade it.

"Once that is done, we will put the tactile cones in, hopefully later this year."