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NYC Crosswalk Buttons are Inoperative
cdneng2 writes "NY Times has an article that New
York crosswalk push buttons are actually ineffective.
Apparently, New York City deactivated most of the pedestrian
buttons long ago with the emergence of computer-controlled
traffic signals. From the article, 'More than 2,500 of the 3,250
walk buttons that still exist function essentially as mechanical
placebos, city figures show.' Well, apparently New York city isn't
the only city like this. I guess the answer lies in the same
reason why people press
the elevator button more than once."
Isn't that a little obvious? I mean, do ANY of those buttons work anymore?
503 Sig Unavailable
The Signature could not be accessed. Please try again later or contact the administrator
The buttons don't work
Everybody knows the more times you push it, the faster it goes. Geez.
- Sherman
It's like Ctrl-Alt-Delete for the general public! ;)
Ph-nglui mglw'nafh Gates M'dna wgah'nagl fhtagn.
This has to be a lie, the government would never waste our money and mislead us!
I know it, and I still do it sometimes. Perhaps it's because I just like pushing buttons... like this button right he NO CARRIER
I have something in common with Stephen Hawking...
The answer is here finally!! Because the button doesn't work
If you lost your job today, don't despair. You may die tomorrow anyway.
The Slashdot "Submit Story" button is also just a placebo. "We just post what we want, and we put some user's name on them, " says Malda.
My entire life has been a lie!
In England, we have these gutless pedestrian crossings which are too scared to stop traffic if they detect cars approaching, so they wait until there's no traffic around and only then activate the pedestrian sequence.
Well gee thanks, I could've figured out myself that I can get across when there's no cars around...
Even better are the ones with a sensor to see if a pedestrian is waiting. So not only do they pander to any approaching car, but they require the pedestrian to be standing in a particular place otherwise they don't operate at all. Very useful.
So if anyone is reading this story and doesn't have a clue what it means because traffic-light stuff is all greek to you... Bedford city council has jobs waiting for you. Join the ranks of the clueless.
Funny, then, that I was just reading this article on a placebo switch that inexplicably worked!
http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/magic-story.html
The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
Carrie: "Life... I started thinking about Paris, and how love AAHGHHHRGHH!!!"
-- taxi cab grinds Carrie into the asphalt, and the credits begin to roll ---
Yes, my girl friend made me watch that damn show for an entire year. The demise of that vile, high-priced sitcom has filled me with a joy not felt since childhood.
No, they do have a point - the clueless push them, and those of us who have worked this out can share a knowing smirk. Highlights the day's commute, for me... ;-)
James F.
sorry, did I just see the words "New York City" and "professional drivers" in the same sentence?
I was once in a rather rocky relationship with a girl which ended when I told her not to bother pressing the button.
"It doesn't do anything, these juntions are automated."
"That is exactly the kind of cynical attitude I'm absolutely fed up with. You have no faith in anything."
She stomped off across the road like an enraged frogger, dodging the still flowing traffic.
A guy I know was in charge of a medium-sized office. He was forever plagued by the women asking him to turn the thermostat up during the winter (the guys saying "turn it down, we're dying in here"). When the office was remodeled, he had a new thermostat installed in a closet, and had the old one unconnected. He put the biggest complainer "in charge" of that thermostat, and never had a problem since. True story.
Finally the truth is out there. Now on to the big one... Area 51. Thanks folks.
There was in town, until just a few years ago a fairly busy intersection that had a crosswalk and a very old button setup, it would when pressed within 5 or so seconds change the light, and would continue to as long as it was pressed, when we were kid we used to hold traffic up just for the fun of it, but at other times, you could time cars, press the button and watch them schreech to a halt.
That either traffic engineers are mismanaging traffic, or city councils can be talked into anything, or reporters are morons.
... "The city should also consider looking in audio crossing signals for the hearing impaired ..." Victor said. ..."
From the San Mateo article linked in the story:
"
What's next? Traffic lights for the blind?
I digress. The close door button always works for me to prevent the fat woman in accounting from getting on the elevator with me.
Kind of like the United States voting system. Hell the entire interface between the people and the government. Corporations are the only entities that have access to the real buttons.
It's like Ctrl-Alt-Delete for the general public! ;)
...or voting...?
I would have to say that explosives are the most abused technology in all of history.
That's why they also have those signs. "Mind: The Gap".
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Well, the common practice in Boston is for people to cross when they feel like it and to drive when they feel like it.
So basically, unless traffic stops for some reason, people will cross at a break in traffic or when there are enough people to significantly outnumber the cars, forcing them to slow down. Likewise, cars will begin to go once most people have crossed.
It's not so much a matter of regulation as it is that the drivers in Boston are really very good, and are willing to drive to the limits of their abilities.
Scares the shit out everyone else though.
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
To press the pedestrian buttons as you walk past...
... I can't help it!
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
sorry, did I just see the words "New York City" and "professional drivers" in the same sentence?
Yeah... I think I also saw "cabs" in that same sentence, along with "not as many accidents are going to happen"...
I'm sorry... I don't know what to say...
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
So let me get this straight, there is a collection of buttons around New York city that are not connected to anything, and are waiting for some enterprising geek to hack into something useful... What are we waiting for??
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
"cab drivers can occasionally be reckless due to long hours worked"?
Are you from New York? Cab drivers in this city are *always* reckless and it *isn't* because of the long hours worked.
A NYC lawyer blogs. http://www.chuangblog.com/
What did I get? Years of mockery and ridicule. Well HA! SEE? I'M NOT PARANOID!!! ALL OF YOU, YOU ALWAYS THOUGHT I WAS PARANOID BUT I'M NOT!!! YOU THINK I'M CRAZY DON'T YOU? ANSWER ME DAMM...
...but jokes aside, I just want to say, "I told you so"
The buttons on the deer xing signs in Wisconsin are like that too.
In England, we have these gutless pedestrian crossings which are too scared to stop traffic if they detect cars approaching, so they wait until there's no traffic around and only then activate the pedestrian sequence.
:p
Cowardly brits!
In Paris, many pedestrians seems to think it's shameful to cross if there are not cars coming from both directions, the faster the better!
What do you know about World Politic? Find out in this quiz
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
The dorm was shaped like a U that pointed at the intersection heightening the noise. Several times a day you would hear loud screeching as people locked up their brakes. Always just the screeching. About 3 weeks into the semester, there was another loud screech, this time followed by a loud CRASH. Simultaneously, 50 people stuck their heads out their windows and cheered. It was hilarious.
A friend from Vermont came to visit last week. When he heard the signal chirping, he asked me what it was for. I expained that the signal chirps so that blind people will know when the signal changes. He said, "Wow, that's awfully odd. In Vermont, we don't let blind people drive!"
Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
Even better are the ones with a sensor to see if a pedestrian is waiting.
Let me guess, those sensors are placed beside and slightly forward of water-filled potholes that are in the exact path of the passing cars' tires.
New York City is the Capitol of professionals - from the lowest bum to the mayor's mom, everybody's working a scam as our lives depend on it. And our drivers are the best in the world: just get out of our way, tourist.
--
make install -not war
Wow. Simply incredible. You sir are living a life full of adventure and memories. Be sure to tell the grandkids.
The truth can finally be told: those buttons aren't for speeding up a light change, they're for slowing down tourists. Otherwise, we'd need zambonies cruising the avenues, scraping midwestern roadkill out of the way of productive citizens. Everyone knows that in NYC you don't change things with a pushbutton - you argue at the top of your lungs, or throw money around to confuse the opposition. Now you know why your wallet is missing after a midtown sightseeing walk: the pickpockets get their cut while you gawk upwards at the skyscrapers, as you lean on the buttons waiting for the light to change. Think of it as a toll.
If you can't jaywalk like an Olympian, stay out of the street. Take a nice cab, and remember to tip at least 20% for the man who's saving your life with every lane change. Now go home where it's safe.
--
make install -not war
When the traffic lights turn green, the crosswalks get a walk sign.
Sounds dangerous.
it's in my head
So that means George Bush is a Professional President?
"Seriously, these things ["look left" signs in London]are very useful when everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road."
So why don't they have them in countries where people drive on the wrong side of the road?
5. Tulsa, Okla. 51st Street and Memorial Drive 2000
6. Tulsa, Okla. 71st Street and Memorial Drive 1995
WOOHOO in your face NYC! Um, wait. I dont think this is something to brag about.
...and therefore my disappointment with hookers :(
Know what I like about atheists? I've yet to meet one that believes God is on their side.
You mean I don't need to double-click the elevator button???
I hate inconsistent user interfaces between different devices!
Hmmm... and here I thought an amateur was someone who used her own home video camera in her bedroom instead of a corporate filming studio. :-)
https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
You're a dipshit
Stop it before I burst into tears.
Ironically, if you weren't in such a hurry to post that snarky reply, you might have noticed the entire definition that I posted... It's the identical link you are referencing.
Go home kid... come back when you can argue without sounding like a preschooler.
Even if a man chops off your hand with a sword, you still have two nice, sharp bones to stick in his eyes.
Heh.
Where I lived, deer were far more common. But there were moose, too, and they were, if anything, dumber than the deer...at least the deer would usually run when you laid on the horn, but the moose would just stand there and look at you Make my day, puny tractor-trailer *ssscccrreeeeeeccchh* and you can see the look in the Moose's eyes Heheheheheh. Top of the food chain, sssnnnoooorrt
SB
It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
The URL in the story is the placebo since no one actually RTFAs anyway...
The same is true in Canada and (as I understand it) the US.
Go ahead and try it in NYC though, you'll only do it once, from then on whoever pushes your wheelchair for you will wait until the light changes.
Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day, but teach a man to phish...
"If you think that the American government cares about the safety of foreign nationals, then you clearly haven't been paying attention to the news lately."
I'm not planning to visit America. To be honest, I'd feel safer in North Korea.
On Queens Boulevard there are some better signs.
I really hate signatures, but go to my website.
Cleveland State has these as well, except they're not marked. Basically when you don't see a car coming, you start walking across the street anywhere you want whether the light is green or red. At least, 90% of the students seem to think that's the proper way to cross the street.
From the "other" article about San Bruno mentioned in the posting:
Ah, so in addition to buttons that don't work, we'll give the deaf audio signals they can't hear. Brilliant.
I'm not sure I want to know how you went through two pairs of underwear in one car ride...