Editing Pedestrian crossing (section)

==History==
[[File:Police crossing notice 1868.png|thumb|upright|Police notice explaining the operation of the first pedestrian crossing signal, London 1868]]{{Unclear|date=February 2023}}
Pedestrian crossings already existed more than 2,000 years ago{{Dubious|date=February 2023}}, as can be seen in the ruins of [[Pompeii]]. Blocks raised on the road allowed pedestrians to cross the street without having to step onto the road itself which doubled up as Pompeii's drainage and sewage disposal system. The spaces between the blocks allowed horse-drawn carts to pass along the road.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bradley |first=Pamela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g8ifPP_QoNUC&pg=PT109 |title=Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107638112 |edition=2nd |language=en}}</ref>

The first pedestrian crossing signal was erected in Bridge Street, [[Westminster]], [[London]], in December 1868. It was the idea of John Peake Knight, a railway engineer, who thought that it would provide a means to safely allow pedestrians to cross this busy thoroughfare. The signal consisted of a semaphore arm (manufactured by Saxby and Farmer, who were railway signaling makers), which was raised and lowered manually by a police constable who would rotate a handle on the side of the pole. The semaphore arms were augmented by gas illuminated lights at the top (green and red) to increase visibility of the signal at night. However, in January 1869, the gas used to illuminate the lights at the top leaked and caused an explosion, injuring the police operator. No further work was done on signalled pedestrian crossings until fifty years later.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Ishaque |first1=Muhammad M. |last2=Noland |first2=Robert B. |title=Making Roads Safe for Pedestrians or Keeping them Out of the Way? - An Historical Perspective on Pedestrian Policies in Britain |url=http://www.cts.cv.ic.ac.uk/documents/poster/poster00845.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717051250/http://www.cts.cv.ic.ac.uk/documents/poster/poster00845.pdf |archive-date=17 July 2011 |access-date=18 August 2009 |publisher=[[Imperial College London]] Centre for Transport Studies}}</ref>

On October 31, 1951, in the town of [[Slough]], west of London, United Kingdom, the first pedestrian crossing in history was marked. The exact source of the name "zebra crossing" cannot be confirmed with certainty, but it is believed that it came from the visual similarity of the crossing with the stripes on zebra fur. It is believed that the term "zebra crossing" was first used by British politician and military officer James Callaghan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Znate li kad i gdje je napravljen prvi pješački prijelaz? |url=https://www.index.hr/auto/clanak/prica-o-prvom-pjesackom-prijelazu-u-povijesti/2611647.aspx |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.index.hr |language=hr}}</ref> 

In the early 20th century, car traffic increased dramatically. A reader of ''[[The Times]]'' wrote to the editor in 1911:

<blockquote>"Could you do something to help the pedestrian to recover the old margin of safety on our common streets and roads? It is heartrending to read of the fearful deaths taking place. If a pedestrian now has even one hesitation or failure the chance of escape from a dreadful death is now much less than when all vehicles were much slower. There is, too, in the motor traffic an evident desire not to slow down before the last moment. It is surely a scandal that on the common ways there should be undue apprehension in the minds of the weakest users of them. While the streets and roads are for all, of necessity the pedestrians, and the feeblest of these, should receive the supreme consideration."<ref>The Times, 14 Feb. 1911, pg. 14: ''The Pedestrian's Chances.</ref></blockquote>

According to Zegeer,
<blockquote>"Pedestrians have a right to cross roads safely and, therefore, planners and engineers have a  professional responsibility to plan, design, and install safe crossing facilities."<ref name="nevadadot.com">{{Cite report |url=https://www.nevadadot.com/home/showdocument?id=9057 |title=Safety and Guidelines for Marked and Unmarked Pedestrian Crosswalks at Unsignalized Intersections in Nevada |date=2012 |publisher=Nevada Department of Transportation}}</ref> 

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