Audible Pedestrian Signals at Road Crossings

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Transport (a) how many signalised pedestrian crossings are equipped with audible pedestrian signals (APS) for visually-impaired (VI) pedestrians and how many are not; (b) of those that are equipped with APS, how many operate on restricted hours at night and what are those hours; and (c) whether LTA can consider equipping all signalised pedestrian crossings with APS which operate 24 hours a day, if necessary with "on-demand" activation at night, so that all VI pedestrians can cross roads safely especially at night when there are fewer other pedestrians to assist them.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has installed audible pedestrian signals (APS) at 860 of about 6,000 signalised pedestrian crossings 3 , based on requests from the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) and from visually-impaired individuals.

LTA takes into consideration the needs of visually-impaired pedestrians as well as the impact on other stakeholders when setting the operational hours of the APS. Generally, the APS is activated from 7.00 am to 9.00 pm daily so that the audio signals do not adversely affect residents living nearby. In some cases, for example, at junctions near the SAVH premises, LTA has acceded to their request for the APS to commence earlier at 6.00 am and end later at 11.00 pm.

"On-demand" APS devices can potentially allow more APS to have longer operating hours. LTA is happy to explore this and other measures that can assist visually-impaired pedestrians to cross the road safely.

Note(s) to Question No(s) :

3 A signalised pedestrian crossing comprises a pair of traffic light signals – one on each side of the road.