Images Dated 14th May 2012

Traffic control experiment, The Cross, 12 August 1955

Watched by County Surveyor, City Surveyor and Chairman of the City's Highways Committee, cars pass on either side of the Cross in an attempt to test the likely effect of traffic lights. For an hour until noon, half a dozen policemen operated a four-phase signalling system, giving the "green light" to traffic from one street at a time. Motorists were allowed to pass either side of the Cross, instead of keeping left. such a system, it was hoped, would enable a smoother flow of traffic, and free up the familiar constable in white gloves for other duties. Other proposed solutions had included widening the turning circle around the Cross by running pavements in arcades through the ground floors of corner shops
Chichester Photographic Collection
West Sussex Record Office Ref No: CPS 0337/1

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