Is York's Queen Street crossing the worst for pedestrians?

Adrian Chiles, who has co-presented both The One Show and Daybreak, and was also the chief presenter for football coverage on ITV Sport, has written in his column for The Guardian about the lights where Blossom Street, Queen Street and Nunnery Lane meet just outside Micklegate Bar.

He writes: "I spend a lot of time in York. The walk into town from my mother-in-law’s house takes me across what I believe to be Britain’s worst traffic lights for pedestrians. If you want to experience these lights for yourself, they are the ones near Micklegate, where Blossom Street intersects with Queen Street and Nunnery Lane. If they were operating like this in the ninth century, it is no wonder the Vikings were so ratty by the time they entered the city.

"As you wait to cross Queen Street, wondering if the green man will ever show himself again, your plans for the day wither away, along with your hopes and dreams. You won’t be going wherever you are heading, today or any other day. No, you will spend it here, on this street corner, outside the Windmill Inn. You could probably pop in, drink a pint of ale, eat a bag of crisps, use the toilet and come out to find the green man still hasn’t appeared."

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Adrian Chiles

He goes on to say that when the green man finally comes on those on foot get about ten seconds in which to get across what is a wide and busy junction.

He goes on the say: "I emailed York council and I got the most informative of replies, from a transport manager called Christian Wood. There is not space to share everything I have learned, but suffice to say that, at busy times, the space between pedestrian phases can be as long as 2 minutes and 40 seconds – the longest in York.

"The problem is that the junction generally can’t cope with the volume of traffic. Also, short though the crossing time is, once on the crossing, you are safe to keep going after the green man’s 10 seconds is up. And, best of all, if anyone is struggling to get across in time, sensors will pick this up and delay the traffic. Clever that.

"I am told a major consultation on transport in the city is imminent. I hereby volunteer to stand by that crossing with a clipboard, garnering pedestrians’ views in two-minute sessions before waving them on their way."