Shenzhen's first manually operated pedestrian traffic light has gone on trial at an intersection near Jingxiu Middle School on Lianhua Road in Futian.

Pedestrians wanting to cross the road can press a button and wait 30 seconds for the traffic light to turn green. The green light will last about one minute, a Daily Sunshine report said Tuesday.

Some students with the middle school said the control had been there for about a week.

The Daily said most people neglected to use the light control switch or did not know how to use it.

The city's traffic police bureau said the light control was developed by the bureau's technology department. The bureau said the intersection near the school had a small pedestrian flow, which was perfect for the trial.

The bureau was not sure whether the equipment would be widely used in Shenzhen. This would depend on its effectiveness and cost.

Manually operated traffic lights are widely used in Europe, where pedestrians enjoy safety privileges in traffic. On busy roads in Manchester, England, the interval from the red light to green is about one minute while it is 10 to 15 seconds on other roads.

Some Chinese cities -- such as Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province, Qingdao and Weihai in east China's Shandong Province -- have installed manually operated traffic lights on some roads.

(Shenzhen Daily July 14, 2004)