(Source: Times Online, UK; Photo via Mail online, UK)

Pedestrians will be made to walk faster on crossings under a plan favouring motorists that Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has proposed.

Digital signs that count down the seconds until cars get a green light would be introduced at 6,000 sets of lights. Those on foot will lose up to six seconds of crossing time during each phase.

The signs are part of the mayor’s plan to give more green time to traffic at the expense of pedestrians. He hopes that pedestrians will either speed up as they see the countdown approaching zero or, if they are slow walkers, wait at the kerb for the next green man phase.

Mr Johnson hopes that the extra green time will smooth the flow of traffic and help to cope with the increase in cars expected next year when he halves the size of the congestion charge zone.

People used to having a certain time to cross at their local lights may suddenly find themselves halfway across the road as the traffic starts to move. The number of green man phases each hour will also fall. Road safety groups fear this will lead to more jaywalking and more collisions.

Mr Johnson has asked the Department for Transport for permission to install the country’s first pedestrian countdown signs. Other authorities are interested in the technology, used in many cities abroad, including Copenhagen, Los Angeles and Singapore. In Taipei and Istanbul, the green man walks faster shortly before the lights change, encouraging pedestrians to mimic him and increase their pace.