This week sees the start of work to improve road safety at various points in the municipality with the installation of smart zebra crossings. These are luminous zebra crossings that detect pedestrians approaching the crossing area and illuminate the ends of the horizontal road markings of the pedestrian crossing and the adjacent vertical signs, thus causing a wake-up call to both drivers and pedestrians.
Over the next few weeks, a total of 18 zebra crossings of these characteristics will be installed in the avenues Ejércitos Españoles, País Valencià, Juan Carlos I, Europa, Diputación, Masnou, Casa Nova, Gabriel Miró and Plaza Constitución.
The works, at a cost of 235,950€, have been awarded to the Cebreados company and are fully funded by the Alicante Provincial Council through the Plan +Cerca 2022 programme. The installation works will be carried out in stages, establishing alternative routes for vehicles when it is necessary to occupy the road. The work is expected to be completed by the end of December.
The smart zebra crossing system detects the presence of pedestrians and using sensors to send a signal that illuminates the panels integrated into the asphalt of the road and the vertical signs. It is estimated that around 15% of serious or fatal pedestrian accidents occur at pedestrian crossings and that speeding, and distractions are behind most of these accidents, so the implementation of this type of pedestrian crossing allows drivers and pedestrians to be better warned.
In 2021 a smart zebra crossing was already installed at the junction of the Avenida de los Ejércitos Españoles with Corbeta and L' Esport Streets, a point of the municipality that registers daily high density of pedestrian and vehicular traffic. According to the mayoress, Ana Sala, with this new execution, "the Calpe Town Hall is committed to a model of sustainable, smart, and safe urban mobility".