Tampere to convert tram crossings into marked pedestrian crossings this summer

Many traffic-light-controlled tram crossings along the tram line will be converted into marked pedestrian crossings this summer, with Hämeenkatu excluded. Small warning signs will indicate the tramway, and painted tram lane markings will be applied between the rails at crossing points.

Traffic engineer Katja Seimelä of the City of Tampere said a pedestrian crossing and a crossing place are different: at a pedestrian crossing motor traffic must yield to pedestrians, whereas at a crossing place pedestrians must yield to other traffic. "We are clarifying markings in the street environment so that pedestrians can more easily recognize when a location is a pedestrian crossing and when it is a crossing place," she said.

The city will install the pedestrian crossing signs and surface markings, while Tampereen Raitiotie Oy is responsible for the road markings inside the crossing places. Work on crossings and crossing places on the operational tram line is planned for this summer; Hämeenkatu is not part of the current programme.