A pegasus crossing (United Kingdom; also equestrian crossing) is a type of signalised

pedestrian crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...

, with special consideration for

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...

riders. This type of crossing is named after the mythical winged horse,

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

. They are primarily used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. At a minimum, these crossings are in the form of a

pelican crossing A pelican crossing, or archaically pelicon crossing (PEdestrian LIght CONtrolled), is a type of pedestrian crossing with traffic signals for both pedestrians and vehicular traffic, activated by call buttons for pedestrians, with the walk signal ...

or puffin crossing but simply have two control panels, one at the normal height for pedestrians or dismounted riders, and one two metres above the ground for the use of mounted riders, and the "green man" (walk) and "red man" (stop)

pictogram A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and ...

s are replaced with horses. Additional features, to improve safety, include a wooden fence or other barrier and a wider crossing so that the horses are further away from vehicles than normal. If the crossing is to be used by pedestrians and cyclists too, then a parallel, separate

toucan crossing A toucan crossing is the British term for a type of pedestrian crossing that also allows bicycles to be ridden across. Since ''“two can”'' cross together (both pedestrians and cyclists) the name “toucan” was chosen. In the United Kingd ...

may be placed next to the pegasus crossing.

Installation and removal

There are examples in

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, C ...

and village area of Wimbledon in London; Rayleigh,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

and

Great Notley Great Notley is a village to the south-west of Braintree, Essex in England. It has an approximate population of 7,845 and became an independent civil parish on 1 April 2000 as a result of The Great Notley Parish Council Order 2000. Archeology Ex ...

in Essex and

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

, Salford as well as near Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey and in Colton on the A6120 in Leeds. The crossing in Colton has a separate gravel covered section, signposted for use by horses only, located at 53.795888,-1.436130 After completion of upgrading the A66 between

Greta Bridge Greta Bridge is a village on the River Greta in County Durham, England. Geography and administration Greta Bridge lies in the Pennine hills near to Barnard Castle. The bridge (now bypassed by the A66 trunk road) is over the River Greta just ...

–

Scotch Corner Scotch Corner is a Junction (road), junction of the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) and A66 road, A66 Trunk road#United Kingdom, trunk roads near Richmond, North Yorkshire, Richmond in North Yorkshire, England. It has been described as "the modern gate ...

in 2007, two pegasus crossings were installed on the section of the dual carriageway in 2009, immediately to the west of Scotch Corner. These crossings included raised buttons for horse riders, safety fences and lights to control the traffic which consisted of only two orange lights. These crossings never became operational and with the exception of the safety fences were later removed. There are also examples in use in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, Peru.

Gallery

Image:Equestrian crossing lights.jpg, "Pegasus" lights Image:PegasusCrossing closeup2.jpg, Control panel for equestrians,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Image:Worsley Pegasus crossing.jpg, Worsley, Salford

References

External links

British Horse Society
Equestrianism Pedestrian crossings {{Peru-road-stub

Installation and removal

Gallery

See also

References

External links