Sydney automatic pedestrian crossings scaled back after attracting resident noise complaints

The incessant beeping of automated pedestrian crossings across Sydney has triggered a series of noise complaints, resulting in the NSW Government to scale back the technology.

The sound of pedestrian crossing buttons has generated noise complaints from Sydney residents.

The incessant beeping of automated pedestrian crossings across Sydney has triggered a series of noise complaints, resulting in the NSW Government to scale back the technology.

The state’s road minister has confirmed complaints about the sound of pedestrian crossing “beeping” warnings has led to a decision to slash the hours of operation across the city.

The automatic crossings were rolled out during the depths of Covid-19 pandemic in a bid to minimise surface transmission and the spread of the virus.

Unlike run of the mill pedestrian crossings, the automated technology allows pedestrians to cross the road without physically touching the button.

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen told Parliament the said noise complaints resulted in the operation of the technology being scaled back from 24/7 to 6am to 10pm in the CBD and 7am to 7pm in all other Sydney areas.

Automatic crossings were rolled out 24/7 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Due to noise complaints caused by the audio warning when the green man is first displayed, the hours of operation were reduced,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Transport for NSW said the department was unable to comment on exactly how many complaints it had received.

Automatic crossings mean pedestrians don’t have to physically touch the button.

On social media, gripes about the sound of the crossings have included residents claiming they have been unable to sleep due to noise emanating from the buttons.

One resident described the noise as a loud “didididdiidididi” sound.

“This goes on all night long and I can hear it loudly from my bedroom which makes it really hard to sleep,” one resident wrote.

Pedestrian advocate Lena Huda, the founder of Walk City, has called for the state government to rethink the move – saying automated crossings can help reduce noise in the urban environment.

“Most of the noise problems in Sydney are coming from vehicles on roads, not so much from pedestrian crossings,” she said.

The automated crossings are placed in high-pedestrian areas such as Newtown.

“If you want to have a silent way of getting around Sydney you should focus on making it easier for people to walk rather than drive. The argument that a pedestrian button is too noisy is ridiculous.”

Ms Huda said automated crossings could also improve pedestrian safety.

“Research shows the maximum amount of time people are happy to wait at a crossing is 30 seconds,” she said.

“By having automatic crossings it becomes faster and easier for people to cross a road and that way they don't take silly risks.”

Ms Haylen said the decision to reduce the automated button hours came after consultation with residents and the City of Sydney Council.

He said the automatic pedestrian crossings had been designed as an “ease-of-use feature”, rather than a safety measure, and had been strategically placed in high-pedestrian areas including King St in Newtown and Parramatta’s CBD.

The Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the volumes of pedestrian push buttons were “designed to vary, depending on background noise levels”.

“The volume can increase during the day as noise levels rise and the decrease as noise levels fall. It must not exceed 85 decibels,” she said.