Pedestrians will soon be spending less time stood at crossings for half  Wiltshire Council changes the signal times to aid social distancing.

Most pedestrian crossings in Wiltshire take up to 30 seconds from when you press the button, to the appearance of the green man, however, that time is being cut to 15 seconds so people don’t have to wait as long in busy places.

Cllr Bridget Wayman, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “As more people walk and cycle to work and for leisure, it’s important we do all we can to aid social distancing, and one of the ways we can do this is to change the times on pedestrian crossings throughout the county to keep people on the move.

“These changes will be rolled out over the next few weeks, starting in the larger urban areas, before moving to crossings in villages and other areas.

“We recognise this may affect traffic flow in certain locations, so we will keep this under review and make changes as necessary.”

Meanwhile the first project to give more space for cyclists and pedestrians is due to start and finish in Devizes on Thursday, May 28.

The changes at St John Street and High Street will widen the footway to support pedestrians achieve social distancing and will help to link to The Brittox shopping area.

The proposal – which is subject to a road safety audit – will reduce the length of the taxi rank, but will give more pedestrian space and improved visibility to vehicles as they approach the zebra crossing.

A council spokesman said that this will be kept under review to ensure the change is working effectively.