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This HAS to be satire
(lemmy.nz)
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/50908658
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this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2026
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They often do nothing.
My city surprisingly set ones up at certain intersections, where the walk lights won’t change UNLESS you hit the button. Had to get back in the habit of pressing them again
Fun fact, those are dangerous as fuck! Drivers just straight up don't see lights that don't regularly change.
I think the lights change (for cars) but the walk signals specifically don’t activate unless someone pushes the button.
I hate those so so much.
Ohhh. There is one near my house that is literally only a pedestrian cross light. It's off 90% of the time. Cars blow right through it constantly with kids in the road.
Yeah, we have some of those nearby me. “RRFB” rectangular rapid-flash beacon.
Upside, people do notice them. Downside, they never quite know what to do and it’s not good enough for a 4-lane road.
My opinion they need one-way traffic spikes activated by the buttons. That might motivate drivers to stop, and if not they get the consequences instead of a person.
The ones here are normal traffic lights, so several sets green when no pedestrians around, then go red when someone wants to cross.
Maybe some bollards could help
There's a crosswalk near me that is normally a flashing green light when you drive past it.
I still have no idea what to do at a flashing green light. What are you trying to tell me?
Light is broken?
Wat
Thankfully the ones I encounter the most are in an already pedestrian heavy area. The city has also taken steps in the last few years to discourage driving through that stretch as well. Speed limit is slower, lights every block, pedestrian crossings (though half are mid block without lights 👎), and new expanded bike lanes. But it still makes no sense why the walk lights don’t automatically change with the traffic lights 🤦♂️
There's one on my bike ride home that's wired backwards. You need to hit the one that controls the perpendicular flow to go straight.
I sent in a service request to the city, but they said it was the state's responsibility and forwarded it.
I'm sure they did.
Did you follow up with the state?
I had one that did nothing in my town. I wrote to the state DOT and they fixed it for me. It’s been about 10 years since then and it still works.
Yeah in my city the difference between hitting the beg button and not hitting the button is often that if you hit the button, the next time your direction of travel has the green light, the little walking man light also comes on. I'm pretty sure it doesn't affect the timings at all. And if you hit the button even a split second after your direction of travel's green light comes on? The little man does not light up, instead it makes you wait through more than an entire cycle before it gives you the little man.
New York City is awesome in this respect: They have almost no beg buttons. There is just a pedestrian phase in every light cycle, no matter what. The same way we assume a car phase in every light cycle. Because it's a city, there are pedestrians in cities, so it's assumed that they're walkin here.
One thing both NYC and my city (Portland) do right is LPIs: Leading Pedestrian Intervals. At more and more crossings, they've been making it so that the pedestrians get the little walking man about 7 seconds before the cars get the green. Ensuring that drivers turning have to sit there and see that there are pedestrians for them to wait for.
they do the same here in NZ (leading the pedestrian signal), and on the bigger intersections, even a red turning arrow for another 15 sec
Sometimes they make clicky sounds when you press them
Just like the "close" buttons on elevators. They make you feel better. Often, the buttons don't actually exist, and the "walk" light is on the same system that allows cars to go the same way.
We've been lied too! Close buttons work in asia!
There’s lots of places they do work, even in the US, which is the only place I’ve heard about them not working, it’s just not universal.
In Germany, they often just don’t have close buttons, which is better than the placebo, but still annoying
I lived in the US nearly all my life and literally never saw one that worked, they must be extremely rare.
I’ve timed them in multiple public and housing buildings in New England and New York (but like, handfuls, not thousands- I’m just exactly this type of curious and autistic, so whenever I use an elevator for long enough to get the opportunity, I do experiments). Around half work in my experience, but that may change depending on where you are.
Timed them?
Is there a delay before they work? Over here in asia, you press close, it instantly starts closing. Maybe thats why I assumed they never worked in the US.
Generally, yeah. Sometimes it’s as little as one or two seconds, but it can go up to fifteen seconds (it doesn’t sound like a lot, but it really feels like it).