Unlike the older pelican crossing designs, where the pedestrian signal lights are mounted on the opposite side of the road, the puffin crossing has them mounted at the near road side, set diagonally to the road edge. This allows the pedestrian to monitor passing traffic while waiting for the signal to cross. A second reason for the design is that having the lights closer to the user assists visually impaired people who could have difficulty viewing the signal from across the carriageway.