First official PANDA crossing was unveiled in London 60 years ago today

The pelican, toucan and puffin crossings are familiar ways of getting safely from one side of a busy road to another - but few have heard of a fourth method that was unveiled in London 60 years ago today.  

Panda crossings, with black and white triangular markings and sequences of flashing lights, were introduced by the Minister of Transport Ernest Marples in 1962 in an attempt to reduce congestion and improve safety for pedestrians.

A precursor to the pelican crossing, which was introduced in 1969, they were meant to be a 'hybrid' by combining the best features of a zebra crossing and a signalled crossing.

But, due to their excessive complexity and widespread unpopularity with drivers, these new crossings vanished just five years later.

Mr Marples - who was carrying a cuddly toy panda - and the then Mayor of Lambeth Albert Charles Dennis, were the first to use the inaugural panda crossing on York Road, opposite Waterloo station, on April 2, 1962.

But the crossings received a frosty reception from the start.

One elderly woman, who used the one near Waterloo station on its opening day, complained that pedestrians weren't given long enough to cross.

She said: 'That man Marples is up to too many tricks. It's a hairbrained scheme and most dangerous.'

Mr Marples had insisted: 'If everyone uses the Panda sensibly it could be another contribution to safety. If it wants altering then we will alter it.  

For pedestrians it was not too complicated. The crossing was activated by pushing a button which lit up a 'wait' sign until the lights changed and a 'cross' light appeared.

But for cars it was far less simple, with flashing orange and red lights which sped up depending on how much time the pedestrians had left to cross and completely switched off when the cars were free to go.

Drivers were confused that no light meant go, with a half-mile queue forming at one crossing in Croydon because, according to an RAC patrol man, 'none of the drivers knew when to move'.

Despite the scheme's unpopularity and frequent technical difficulties, a huge publicity campaign was launched and the trial was rolled out across the country.

In the key trial sites of Guildford, Lincoln and London, a 60-second promotional video was shown in cinemas and schools.

Every schoolchild got a copy of the information leaflet explaining what the different signals meant. 

Guildford was supposedly chosen as a trial site because of the 'high standard of intelligence of its inhabitants' but local newspapers called the experiment a 'farce'.