100% serious: No more pushbutton crosswalks (the kind you have to press a button to get the pedestrian green light) at intersections where there is a traffic light cycle anyway (excluding those small crosswalks where the traffic light never changes unless a button is pushed) Why is it needed? Just sync the crosswalk light to the traffic light.
No, I’m not talking about a traffic light that is completely controlled by the crosswalk button like you see in the suburbs, I’m talking about a specific design that I see everywhere where I live (Metro Vancouver, Canada): There is already a traffic light for cars, and it’s on a regular cycle. If you don’t press the crosswalk button, you’ll never get a crossing light. Even if you do, it waits for the next time the traffic parallel to you is running and there is no protected left, before it lets you cross (you know, like how crosswalk light works any intersection without crosswalk buttons, where the crosswalk is controlled automatically). Also, if parallel traffic is already running when you press the button, it always waits for the light to change to through traffic, then for the light to change again to parallel traffic before letting you through because the controller will not allow a crosswalk cycle that is shorter than the regular traffic cycle, even if there is plenty of time in the current cycle to let you pass (or even if the light JUST changed to parallel traffic).
In short, even with the buttons, when pedestrians can cross is still dictated by the light cycle for traffic. In fact, it’s slower for pedestrians compared to a system where the crosswalks operate automatically in sync with the traffic lights. So why isn’t it just in sync with the traffic lights is beyond me?
What we have are even worse than placebo buttons. They do work and you’ll never get a crossing light without pressing the button, but they actively make you wait longer to cross compared to if they were automatic. The buttons, to my knowledge, do not affect the main traffic light timings at all (I haven’t times it with a stopwatch or anything, but I cross a few of the same intersections very often and have never perceived a timing difference between button press and no button press).
I know in my neighborhood that at similar intersections, the traffic light switches fairly quickly if there are no pedestrians, but if you press the pedestrian button it stays green longer so pedestrians of all ages have enough time to get across.
100% serious: No more pushbutton crosswalks (the kind you have to press a button to get the pedestrian green light) at intersections where there is a traffic light cycle anyway (excluding those small crosswalks where the traffic light never changes unless a button is pushed) Why is it needed? Just sync the crosswalk light to the traffic light.
you can get more cars through the intersection with a button, obviously, by not wasting time for pedestrians when there are none.
No, I’m not talking about a traffic light that is completely controlled by the crosswalk button like you see in the suburbs, I’m talking about a specific design that I see everywhere where I live (Metro Vancouver, Canada): There is already a traffic light for cars, and it’s on a regular cycle. If you don’t press the crosswalk button, you’ll never get a crossing light. Even if you do, it waits for the next time the traffic parallel to you is running and there is no protected left, before it lets you cross (you know, like how crosswalk light works any intersection without crosswalk buttons, where the crosswalk is controlled automatically). Also, if parallel traffic is already running when you press the button, it always waits for the light to change to through traffic, then for the light to change again to parallel traffic before letting you through because the controller will not allow a crosswalk cycle that is shorter than the regular traffic cycle, even if there is plenty of time in the current cycle to let you pass (or even if the light JUST changed to parallel traffic).
In short, even with the buttons, when pedestrians can cross is still dictated by the light cycle for traffic. In fact, it’s slower for pedestrians compared to a system where the crosswalks operate automatically in sync with the traffic lights. So why isn’t it just in sync with the traffic lights is beyond me?
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What we have are even worse than placebo buttons. They do work and you’ll never get a crossing light without pressing the button, but they actively make you wait longer to cross compared to if they were automatic. The buttons, to my knowledge, do not affect the main traffic light timings at all (I haven’t times it with a stopwatch or anything, but I cross a few of the same intersections very often and have never perceived a timing difference between button press and no button press).
I know in my neighborhood that at similar intersections, the traffic light switches fairly quickly if there are no pedestrians, but if you press the pedestrian button it stays green longer so pedestrians of all ages have enough time to get across.