Smart way for pedestrians to cross in Torrevieja

TORREVIEJA is the first European municipality to install a pedestrian crossing designed with smart-phone users in mind.

As so many members of the local and national population walk the streets absorbed in their smartphones, more than one has come to grief by walking into trees and lampposts or crossing the road without paying sufficient attention to their surroundings.

According to the findings of a study carried out for the Axa insurance company, 37 per cent of those questioned admitted that they crossed the road while looking at their phones.

“This original and pioneering system has been installed at the traffic lights located in Avenida de La Libertad in front of the Casino,” announced Torrevieja’s Public Safety and Emergencies councillor Federico Alarcon.

The pedestrian crossing has illuminated icons set into the ground that turn red or green. These are synchronised with the traffic lights, so that anyone engrossed in their smartphone will know whether or not to cross without needing to look up.