The zebra to lose its stripes

IT looks like the zebra - that is, the zebra crossing - is heading for extinction. Fifty years after the first black-and-white striped crossing opened for use in Slough, the crossings are being replaced on all but the quietest streets.

Where traffic is light and slow, the zebras are still deemed to be safe.

But London has 700 per cent more vehicles on the move than in 1951, and zebra crossings are not doing enough to improve Britain's terrible record on child pedestrian deaths. In the EU, only Ireland has a worse record.

According to Transport for London, between 1994 and 1998 an average of 934 children a year were killed or seriously injured on the capital 's roads.

Zebra crossings, introduced in the Fifties, are not doing enough to improve Britain's appalling record on child pedestrian deaths, so they are to be phased out, says Tim Hitchcock The zebra to lose its stripes TfL aims to reduce that by 50 per cent by 2010 and upgrading crossings is part of its strategy.

"The way forward is the puffin crossing," said a spokesman for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. "The puffin is the latest computerised crossing, which uses sensors to detect pedestrians and increases the frequency with which they may cross when numbers build up. It is buttonoperated, has a green man and signal to indicate when it is safe but, unlike the pelican, there is no set phase of changes that can make children impatient."

Andrew Howard, head of road safety at the AA, said: "I don 't think the zebra crossing is going to be missed terribly.

Residents' groups have campaigned to have them replaced. It saves having to teach children how to use two different types of crossing if an area has one zebra and, say, six button-operated ones.

Light-controlled crossings give everyone a reasonable bite of the cherry.

"You would expect the zebra to be unpopular with motorists held up by people wandering across the road one by one but it also lacks friends among road safety campaigners. One reason is that children often dart across them without checking for oncoming vehicles."

Kevin Saunders, of the Safe Routes to Schools, said: "We're certainly keener to see controlled crossings than zebras."

The RAC Foundation agrees. A spokesman said: "Crossings with traffic lights tend to be a great deal safer. They ensure motors slow and stop properly."

Brigitte Chaudhry, of Road Peace, a Londonbased charity that supports the victims of traffic accidents, demands more progress to protect those on foot.

SHE said: "More than 50 per cent of road fatalities in London are pedestrians and there was an increase of 22 per cent in the number of deaths in 2000. We think pedestrians should have priority but crossings with sensors and a clear light signal are best."

Many blind people dislike zebra crossings.

Geoff Lewis, of JMU Access Partnership, a research body supported by the RNIB and Guide Dogs for the Blind, said: "If you are someone who can't see then you rely on a leap of faith that drivers have seen you and will stop."

There are 222 zebra crossings in Westminster and they are not going to disappear overnight.

There are no plans to remove the world-famous zebra outside Abbey Road studios, because it's a tourist attraction.

The first attempt to replace zebras failed when panda crossings were abandoned a year after their introduction in 1961. This time the challenge is more serious for the simple reason that "Londoners prefer pelican crossings because they think they are safer", said a TfL spokeswoman.

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