- I'm in Singapore,
and this is the best pedestrian crossing button
in the world,
and here's why.
This has been designed for accessibility.
So if you're vision-impaired,
then there's some signals to help you cross the road.
It can make a beeping sound to let you know where it is,
and another sound to let you know when to cross.
There's a tactile arrow,
which gives you directions about where to cross.
And if you're both hard of hearing,
and have vision impairment,
then this panel can vibrate,
giving you another indication about when to go.
Now, you might know some of this stuff,
maybe because you live in Australia, or Ireland,
or some other country where this is being used,
'cause it was invented in Australia.
Or maybe you watched a great video
that explains this in a lot more detail.
But here in Singapore,
they've taken this design to the next level.
And here's what they've done.
(logo chiming)
To understand what they've done
with the design of the button,
you need to know a bit more about the context of Singapore.
So Singapore is a city state.
That is, everyone lives in an urban area.
Now another feature about the population
is that it's getting a lot older.
Back in the 1960s, the median age was around 19 years old.
Today, that's just hit 42 years.
And there are more and more people living
into their 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond.
So Singapore doesn't only have to design a button
that works for the elderly, but an entire city.
So I've come to Bukit Merah View
to show you how they're doing just that.
This is the site of Singapore's first Silver Zone,
an area designed explicitly for older people.
I'm gonna show you some of the design features about it,
but this is an idea that's catching on
and popping up across the city.
You'll see these signs as you enter the neighborhood.
And some of the key features to improve the safety
is just the slowing down of cars.
So the major ways that this is achieved
is having lower speed limits,
and then having roads that don't run straight.
This horizontal deflection slows cars down.
And in addition to this, there are also speed humps.
Now another feature about the Silver Zones
are these pedestrian crossings,
and they've been designed to make it easier
for the residents.
First, you'll notice that they're raised,
and this achieves a couple of things.
Firstly, you don't have to step down into the road,
which is much easier if you've got mobility issues,
including being in a wheelchair.
It also makes it clear to drivers
that this is a pedestrian space,
and they need to slow and give way.
Another feature is,
normally when you cross a road, you do it all in one go.
But what they've done here is they've put in these medians,
and what that does is it allows people
to cross half the road, take a pause, take a break,
and cross when they're ready.
As mentioned,
one of the challenges is crossing the entire road in one go.
And that brings us back to the pedestrian crossing button.
And the system they've developed is called Green Man +.
And the basic idea is this.
While the road is the constant length,
people cross at different speeds,
and older people are more likely to need a longer time
to cross the road.
And the system they came up with is pretty clever,
and pretty simple.
To explain how it works,
I'm gonna show you this video
that the Singapore government put together.
But a quick aside, people love pushing this button.
It feels really good.
Now in this video, the kid's concerned
that she might break it,
but he doesn't have to worry.
It turns out there's some clever design inside this button.
Rather than physically making contact,
like most buttons,
inside is a magnet on a rail.
So it doesn't matter how hard or soft you push,
it never makes physical contact,
making this button incredibly robust.
Now back to the video.
(crossing beeping) - Poor Gong Gong.
I think someone can help him cross more easily.
- Actually, there is something to help.
The Green Man +.
(upbeat music)
- What's that? How does it work?
- [Man] All the Gong Gongs and Po Pos
just have to tap their concession card here.
After tapping, the red light will appear.
Then at the next crossing,
they will have more time to cross.
- The basic idea is that while the road is a fixed length,
people's crossing speed will vary.
And people that are older
might need more time to cross the road,
so the way it works is they can swipe their card.
What that does is it lets the system know
that there's someone who wants a bit longer
to cross the road.
And what happens is, when the light changes,
they'll be given extra time.
Now, that time will vary depending on the width of the road,
from a couple of extra seconds, to around 13 extra seconds.
And it's not just the elderly that might need extra time.
It could apply for people with disabilities,
or have other mobility issues,
and they also have their own card,
and gives them the extra time.
So I think Singapore might have
the world's best pedestrian crossing buttons,
until I find someone who's got a better one.
Thanks for watching.
I've been Julian O'Shea.
Please do subscribe if you enjoyed this.
It's been great to travel to Singapore,
and explore some cool designs elsewhere.
Take care.
(logo chiming)