City officials are trying to make Lawrence a safer, more pedestrian-friendly place.
Last week, the city installed a pedestrian timer at the intersection of Sixth and Massachusetts streets.
Lauren Frost waits for the signal to cross the intersection of Sixth and Massachusetts streets. A timer that counts down the seconds remaining before the signal changes recently was installed at the crosswalk. The new signals are intended to make the city safer for pedestrian traffic.
David Woosley, city traffic engineer, said the timers count down for pedestrians how long they have to get across the street.
"We thought that would be a good location downtown because we get a lot of pedestrians at that corner," he said.
Friday afternoon, people had only 13 seconds to cross Sixth Street, but 74 seconds to get across Massachusetts Street. A signal with orange lights counts down the seconds.
"That's one of the shorter ones because Mass. Street traffic doesn't take a lot of time," Woosley said.
However, he said, the crossing time does vary depending on the time of day and the location.
In December, the city installed the timers at Harvard and Iowa streets and 23rd and Alabama streets, but they only recently started working properly.
So far, people seem to like the timers.
"At Harvard and Iowa, we've received a few comments and they were all positive," Woosley said.
If the city received more favorable feedback, he said, it probably would install the timers in other locations. For a full intersection, the timers cost about $4,000, while a new traffic signal costs about $125,000.
"The next time we have a new signal under construction, we'll decide whether to put one there or not," Woosley said.
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