In its series on resilient cities, The Guardian reports on Tilburg's approach to making roads more flexible. The city is addressing the question by allowing residents to use sensors and smartphones, aiming to make the city's roads safer for its inhabitants.
Since April, Noud Rommen (71) has been able to cross the road without dodging cars – with the help of his smartphone. He is one of 10 people in the Dutch city of Tilburg trialling the Crosswalk, an app that gives pedestrians with restricted mobility extra crossing time.
The Crosswalk app enables a sensor in the lights, the Guardian reports, which constantly scans the pavement on either side of the junction. If it registers a Crosswalk user waiting when the button is pressed, the sensor adjusts the green-light time. The app comes pre-installed with one of four time settings, depending on the user’s level of mobility, to minimise delays to other traffic.