PUFFINS and Toucans are taking roost in York.

The birds are taking up new positions helping pedestrians and cyclists cross the busy Hull Road.

They are the first of a new breed of user-friendly pedestrian crossings to be introduced in the city as part of City of York Council's Hull road corridor improvement scheme.

A new Puffin (Pedestrian User Friendly Intelligent) crossing is being installed at the end of Pinelands Way, and a Toucan (Two Can Cross) between the ends of Lilac Avenue and Thief Lane.

The existing pelican outside The Black Bull is also being changed to a Toucan crossing.

Puffin crossings are designed to be more user-friendly than the old pelican crossings.

On a Puffin crossing, the red and green men are on the same side of the road and on the same pole as the push button and 'wait' sign.

The pedestrian simply presses the button and waits for the green man to light up, checks that traffic has stopped and crosses.

Unlike a pelican, no green figure can be seen on the other side of the road by anyone actually crossing the road, but special detectors make sure that the red lights stopping the traffic stay on until everyone is safely across.

Toucan crossings are for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Cyclists do not have to get off their bikes in order to cross the road.

They ride up to the crossing and, like pedestrians, they push the button, wait for the green man or cycle, check the traffic and ride across.

The Toucans, like a Puffin, will also detect pedestrians and cyclists on the crossing, giving people plenty of time to cross safely.

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