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> The old design had a light that would activate after you pressed to acknowledge your request. In Victoria the buttons have a light. They also have proximity
by cyphar 10y ago
> The old design had a light that would activate after you pressed to acknowledge your request.
In Victoria the buttons have a light. They also have proximity activation (wave your hand in front of the light) and make a loud noise when you activate it.
> Not to mention the smaller metal lozenge at the top which looks like a button but does nothing, so people press both surfaces in confusion.
It's for people who have issues being able to see the far side of the road (to see if the light is on). They can put their finger on the lozenge to tell if it's safe to cross. It's the same idea as European crossing buttons. IMO the German crossing buttons make the least sense to me -- they have something that looks like a switch but actually just vibrates (for the same reason as the Australian ones vibrate).
- joshschreuder 10y agoWait, proximity activation? I've lived here my whole life and never known this. Going to have to try it out tomorrow.
- cyphar 10y agoI visited Melbourne a few months ago, and there were quite a few of these near the CBD (though not all of them, which might explain why you haven't seen them). They look like a regular crossing button, but the button part is painted black and has a red V made from LEDs (IIRC).