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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."
Actually, lots of traffic signals here in Germany have touch-sensitive Buttons, which can't really be pressed. You just touch them and they notice the change in temperature.
Since you don't get any feedback, it doesn't really satisfy and I'm always left with the feeling that it didn't register the request at all.
Fleur de Sel
The real reason is that almost all NYC traffic lights are on a timer anyway. Unlike most areas of the country that have on-demand lights that are sensitive to traffic and keep green for the major roadway, if you wait a minute the light will change anyway. So why interrupt the rare possible synchronized goodness on a Manhattan avenue for the impatient pedestrian?
The downside to this timer approach is that you often wait for nobody at red lights at 3am. Stooopid lazy NYC planners.
Either that or the trigger antennas that they would need to place under the roadway can't take the winter punishment.
--dv
Insert witty saying or aphorism here.
Crosswalk buttons are just a signal to drivers that a person is planning to cross the street. In big, pedestrian cities like New York, you don't need the buttons because there's almost always someone waiting to cross the street, and drivers know this. In my life, the only place I've made a point to use the buttons is in the suburban area where I live now, because a person standing on a streetcorner may or may not be waiting to cross the street, and the drivers are really bad at yielding to pedestrians.
I could kill you, sure, but I could only make you cry with these words
In Nanaimo, BC, Canada, the crosswalk buttons work... kinda.
Except for crosswalks (where there is no cross street), all the buttons do is turn on the walk signal when the light turns green. They don't change the timing any. Thanks a lot, public works, I could've figured it out myself.
To make matters more interesting, one of the crosswalks takes so long to change that whoever pressed the button has usually jaywalked by the time it changes.
Remember, "professional" means that you get paid for it, not that you're any good at it.
I think you're on the right track with psychology, but I think it's actually societal communication. If I walk up and just stand near you, that's creepy and I'm weird. If I push the button, you know I want to ride the elevator so now standing near you is perfectly acceptable and normal behavior. At least I think that's how it processes somewhere deep in our minds.
As for using the open/close buttons or pressing more than once, I think that's a "I'm in a hurry" signal. I don't understand why it's important to communicate this, but if you pay attention people usually signal one way or another whether or not they are in a hurry.
Now as far as the crosswalk signs go, I thought they actually worked and were put there so pedestrians didn't have to wait for a car to trip the signal lights. Downtown areas seem to have these buttons less, which makes sense since there's more likely to be cross traffic or the lights are timed rather than triggered by demand. I'm surpised to hear there are dummy boxes out there.
Heh.
I live in NYC (wait for the light to change - no point in pushing the button). On my trip to England I was doing the same thing (well, until I figured it out [after a few minutes waiting for the light to change]).
Oh, yeah, and THANKS for the `look ->' signs. If it weren't for those, I'd be road kill. Almost got ran over by a bus when I steped out of the airport.
"If anything can go wrong, it will." - Murphy
Okay, I've read all that, and it pretty much confirms rather than allays my suspicions:
(a) the pedestrian sensor looks at the centre of the area where pedestrians would stand. But the buttons are right at the edge of that area. And cyclists can't move sideways.
(b) No mention of how long it takes from pressing a button to getting a green light. My guess is that it's "2 minutes, or when there's no traffic, whichever is earlier"
Which means that yes, the light does indeed fail to stop traffic if it can possibly avoid doing so. Remember that by the time the button is pushed, someone is already waiting
Having lights which take so long to react seems quite dangerous, because people will give up and cross anyway, and almost get hit by a police car
As to 'pre-timed max', surely imposing a "minimum time between stopping cars" doesn't have any effect if the crossing was just waiting there doing nothing for 10 minutes before I arrived? Unless it sets a minimum time for pedestrians to wait, which is just too dumb to even contemplate.
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. Take the first time you get clipped by an SUV as your warning.
You don't actually live in NYC do you? Cab drivers in NYC aren't "always reckless". I take NYC cabs all the time and although the drivers aren't little old ladies, they are seldom reckless. With taxi medallions costing $200,000 they have to maximize return from the vehicle. That is the reason taxi drivers seem impatient and in a hurry - time is money, literally, to taxi drivers. There are always exceptions, but taxi drivers in NYC are generally pretty good.
Most cabs in NYC are driven 24 hours per day. As one driver gets out the next one takes over. If one damages the cab TWO drivers are out of a job because New York rules are very strict - no taxi can operate with damaged body panels. Few drivers work for taxi companies where they get a replacement if they wreck the cab.
I ride a bicycle most days in Manhattan and I have very few problems with taxi drivers. The most reckless drivers in NYC are far and away Post Office trucks. Next worse are the the SUVs with Jersey plates. Of all the vehicles in Manhattan, taxis are probably the best driven.