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I have yet to see a 'working' crosswalk button in my nearest (non-NYC) metropolis. This would be because every light-controlled intersection I traverse on foot
by delinka 10y ago
I have yet to see a 'working' crosswalk button in my nearest (non-NYC) metropolis. This would be because every light-controlled intersection I traverse on foot is on a programmed loop. Reliably, the crosswalk lights go to "walk" a second before the parallel street goes green. This happens five seconds after the perpendicular direction goes all red.
That's not to say that sensor-controlled intersections which take the crosswalk button into consideration do not exist- there are far too many intersections which I haven't the time nor the inclination to tour.
Ultimately, my point is this: simply because all the media on placebo buttons dwells on New York City does not mean similar devices don't exist elsewhere. I bet here, folks just don't care; they press a button and eventually get through a light.
- robocat 10y ago"Programmed loop" has little to do with whether buttons work or not. A button can speed up the cycle, similar to induction loops on low traffic density intersections (or that sometimes only work at night).
- Animats 10y agoBehavior may be very different during low-traffic periods. During busy periods, it's important to keep synchronization with nearby intersections. During off-peak periods, many traffic lights go to an on-demand mode, skipping directions where no traffic or pedestrians are waiting. The standard modes are called "pre-timed", "partially actuated", and "fully actuated".[1] In pre-timed mode, the pedestrian buttons don't do anything, but there's a WALK period somewhere in the cycle. In "fully actuated", you never get a WALK without pushing the button. [1] http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop06006/chapter_7.htm http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop06006/chapter_7....
- delinka 10y agoMy sincerest apologies for not specifying "pre-timed" as intended.