The £5m junction, inspired by a similar crossing in Tokyo, opened in the West End shopping area on 2 November 2009.
The redesign increased road space for pedestrians by 70% and allows people to cross diagonally by simultaneously halting traffic from all directions.
And it works so well, as these pics taken a couple of weeks ago show. This is the green phase, when pedestrians pour across the crossing from all directions.
As I swing the camera slightly to the left the sign in the background tells pedestrians they have 8 seconds left to get to the other side.
That’s if they don’t get knocked down by the black estate car, or the Boris Biker who has merrily jumped the red light and is about to force his way through a line of pedestrians, doing wonders for cyclist-pedestrian relations.
