Editing Pedestrian crossing (section)

==Signals==
===Pedestrian call buttons<span class="anchor" id="Call button"></span>===
{{globalize section|United States|date=May 2022}}
[[File:Los Angeles pedestrian crossing button.jpg|thumb|A pedestrian call button|upright]]

Pedestrian call buttons (also known as pedestrian push buttons or pedestrian beg buttons) are installed at traffic lights with a dedicated pedestrian signal, and are used to bring up the pedestrian "walk" indication in locations where they function correctly.<ref name="buttons nyt"/><ref name="buttons bbc"/> In the majority of locations where call buttons are installed, pushing the button does not light up the pedestrian walk sign immediately. One [[Portland State University]] researcher notes of call buttons in the US, "Most [call] buttons don't provide any feedback to the pedestrian that the traffic signal has received the input. It may appear at many locations that nothing happens."<ref name="Gan 2015">{{cite news |last=Gan |first=Vicky |title=Ask CityLab: Do "WALK" Buttons Actually Do Anything? |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=2 September 2015 |url=http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/09/ask-citylab-do-walk-buttons-actually-do-anything/400760/ |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> However, there are some locations where call buttons do provide confirmation feedback. At such locations, pedestrians are more likely to wait for the "walk" indications.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Van Houten |first1=Ron |last2=Ellis |first2=Ralph |last3=Sanda |first3=Jose |last4=Kim |first4=Jin-Lee |year=2006 |title=Pedestrian Push-Button Confirmation Increases Call Button Usage and Compliance |journal=Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board |volume=1982 |pages=99–103 |doi=10.3141/1982-14}}</ref>

Reports suggest that many walk buttons in some areas, such as [[New York City]] and the United Kingdom, may actually be either [[placebo button]]s or nonworking call buttons that used to function correctly.<ref name="buttons nyt">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/27/nyregion/for-exercise-in-new-york-futility-push-button.html |work=The New York Times |title=For Exercise in New York Futility, Push Button |first=Michael |last=Luo |date=27 February 2004 |access-date=22 May 2010 }}</ref><ref name="buttons bbc"/> In the former case, these buttons are designed to give pedestrians an [[illusion of control]] while the crossing signal continues its operation as programmed.<ref name="buttons bbc">{{cite news |last=Castella |first=Tom |date=4 September 2013 |title=Does pressing the pedestrian crossing button actually do anything? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23869955 |newspaper=BBC News Magazine |publisher=BBC |access-date=23 November 2013}}</ref> However, in instances of the latter case, such as New York City's, the buttons were simply deactivated when traffic signals were updated to automatically include pedestrian phases as part of every signal cycle. In such instances these buttons may be removed during future updates to the pedestrian signals.<ref name="buttons nyt"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Susanna |title=Why the Crosswalk Buttons in Your City May Not Work |website=ABC News |date=31 July 2014 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/idea-citys-crosswalk-buttons-work/story?id=24796722 |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, pressing a button at a standalone pedestrian crossing that is unconnected to a junction will turn a traffic light red immediately, but this is not necessarily the case at a junction.<ref name="buttons bbc"/>

Sometimes, call buttons work only at some intersections, at certain times of day, or certain periods of the year, such as in New York City or in [[Boston]], Massachusetts.<ref name="buttons nyt"/><ref name=radioboston/> In Boston, some busy intersections are programmed to give a pedestrian cycle during certain times of day (so pushing the button is not necessary) but at off-peak times a button push is required to get a pedestrian cycle.  In neighboring [[Cambridge, Massachusetts|Cambridge]], a button press is always required if a button is available, though the city prefers to build signals where no button is present and the pedestrian cycle always happens between short car cycles.<ref name=radioboston/> In both cases the light will not turn immediately, but will wait until the next available pedestrian slot in a pre-determined rotation.<ref name=radioboston>{{cite web |url=http://radioboston.wbur.org/2010/05/10/walk-buttons |title=Crosswalk Buttons Don't Do Anything! Except When They Do |last1=Ragusea |first1=Adam |author-link1=Adam Ragusea |work=Radio Boston |date=10 May 2010}}</ref>

===Countdown timers===
[[File:CountDownTrafficLight.gif|upright=.4|frameless|right|Count down traffic light]]

Some pedestrian signals integrate a [[countdown]] [[timer]], showing how many seconds are remaining for the clearing phase. In the United States, San Francisco was the first major city to install countdown signals to replace older pedestrian modules, doing so on a trial basis starting in March 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bikewalk.org/2006conference/vconference/presentations/PedestrianandBicycleTrafficSignalIssuesandDirections2.pdf |title=Pedestrian Countdown Signals: Experience with an Extensive Pilot Installation |date=January 2006 |publisher=ITE Journal |pages=43–48 |access-date=9 March 2017 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The United States MUTCD added a countdown signal as an optional feature to its 2003 edition; if included, the countdown digits would be Portland Orange, the same color as the "Upraised Hand" indication.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |url=https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2003/part4/part4e.htm |title=FHWA - MUTCD - 2003 Edition Chapter 4E |website=[[Federal Highway Administration|Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)]]|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> The MUTCD's 2009 edition changed countdown timers to a mandatory feature on pedestrian signals at all signalized intersections with pedestrian clearance intervals ("flashing upraised hand" phases) longer than seven seconds. With the MUTCD guideline allotting at least one second to cross {{Convert|3|ft|m}}, this indicates that countdown timers are supposed to be installed on roads wider than {{Convert|21|ft|m}}.<ref name="mutcd-4e" /> The countdown is not supposed to be displayed during the pedestrian "walk" interval ("steady walking person" phase).<ref name="mutcd-4e">{{cite web |title=Chapter 4E - MUTCD 2009 Edition |website=FHWA |url=https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part4/part4e.htm |date=2009 |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref>

Some municipalities have found that there are instances where pedestrian countdown signals may be less effective than standard hand/man or "{{Smallcaps|walk}}"/"{{Smallcaps|dont walk}}" signals. New York City started studying the pedestrian timers in an inconclusive 2006 study<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/nyregion/03lights.html |title=Too Slow in the Crosswalk? Automatic Timers Will Tell You |last=Chan |first=Sewell |date=3 November 2006 |work=The New York Times|access-date=9 March 2017 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> but only started rolling out pedestrian timers on a large scale in 2011 after the conclusion of a second study, which found that pedestrian countdown timers were ineffective at shorter crosswalks.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Countdown Clocks Coming to City Crosswalks |website=NBC New York |date=16 August 2010 |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Countdown-Clocks-Coming-to-City-Crosswalks-100763809.html |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> Additionally, a 2000 study of pedestrian countdown timers in [[Lake Buena Vista, Florida]], at several intersections near [[Walt Disney World]], found that pedestrians were more likely to cross the street during the pedestrian clearance interval (flashing upraised hand) if there is a timer present, compared to at intersections where there was no timer present.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fdot.gov/safety/4-Reports/Bike-Ped/CNT-REPT.pdf |title=The Effects of Pedestrian Countdown Signals in Lake Buena Vista |date=November 2000 |first1=Herman |last1=Huang |first2=Charles |last2=Zegeer |publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] Highway Safety Research Center |website=[[Florida Department of Transportation|fdot.gov]] |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> A study in [[Toronto]] found similar results to the Florida study, determining that countdown timers may actually cause more crashes than standard hand/man signals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://people.few.eur.nl/kapoor/Kapoor_Magesan_Paging_Inspector_Sands_Final.pdf |title=Paging Inspector Sands: The Costs of Public Information |first1=Sacha |last1=Kapoor |first2=Arvind |last2=Magesan |publisher=[[Erasmus School of Economics]] |website=[[Erasmus University Rotterdam|people.few.eur.nl]] |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Richmond |first1=Sarah A |last2=Willan |first2=Andrew R |last3=Rothman |first3=Linda |last4=Camden |first4=Andi |last5=Buliung |first5=Ron |last6=Macarthur |first6=Colin |last7=Howard |first7=Andrew |date=9 March 2017 |title=The impact of pedestrian countdown signals on pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions: a reanalysis of data from a quasi-experimental study |journal=Injury Prevention |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=155–158 |doi=10.1136/injuryprev-2012-040717 |issn=1353-8047 |pmc=4033273 |pmid=24065777 }}</ref> However, other cities such as [[London]] found that countdown timers were effective,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://content.tfl.gov.uk/PCaTS-Note-2-Overview-Presentation.pdf |title=Pedestrian Countdown at Traffic Signals - An overview of London's successful trials |date=September 2011 |publisher=[[Transport for London]]|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref> and New York City found that countdown signals worked mainly at longer crosswalks.<ref name=":0" />

Pedestrian countdown signals are also used elsewhere around the world, such as in Buenos Aires,<ref>{{cite web |title=Podrán programar semáforos según el estado del tránsito |url=https://www.clarin.com/ciudades/Podran-programar-semaforos-transito_0_SkfLCmqaDQx.html |website=Clarín |access-date=8 September 2018 |language=es |date=19 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Patente de Invención, Semáforo vehicular-peatonal con aviso de cambio en unidad de tiempo |url=https://consultas.inpi.gob.ar/Patentes_Resultado?Va=509550&Vb=Concedida&Vc=020010101056 |website=Instituto Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial |publisher=INPI |access-date=8 September 2018 |date=28 November 2006 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909035418/https://consultas.inpi.gob.ar/Patentes_Resultado?Va=509550&Vb=Concedida&Vc=020010101056 |archive-date=9 September 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> India,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Biswas |first1=Sabyasachi |last2=Ghosh |first2=Indrajit |last3=Chandra |first3=Satish |date=1 April 2017 |title=Effect of Traffic Signal Countdown Timers on Pedestrian Crossings at Signalized Intersection |journal=Transportation in Developing Economies |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=2 |doi=10.1007/s40890-016-0032-7 |s2cid=132815625 |issn=2199-9287}}</ref> Mexico,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=https://gizmodo.com/7-walk-signs-you-wouldnt-mind-waiting-for-1660909047 |title=7 Crosswalk Signals You Won't Mind Waiting For |last=Walker |first=Alissa |work=Gizmodo|access-date=9 March 2017 |language=en-US}}</ref> Taiwan,<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Long |first1=Kejun |last2=Han |first2=Lee D. |last3=Yang |first3=Qiang |date=1 October 2011 |title=Effects of countdown timers on driver behavior after the yellow onset at Chinese intersections |journal=Traffic Injury Prevention |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=538–544 |doi=10.1080/15389588.2011.593010 |issn=1538-957X |pmid=21972865|s2cid=33996453 }}</ref> and the United Arab Emirates.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |url=http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/transport/abu-dhabi-installs-countdown-signal-system-for-pedestrians-1.579202 |title=Abu Dhabi installs countdown signal system for pedestrians |date=6 February 2010 |work=GulfNews|access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref> In [[Mexico City]], the walking man moves his feet during the countdown.<ref name=":1" /> In Taiwan, all the crossings feature animated men called [[xiaoluren|xiaolüren]] ("little green man"), who will walk faster immediately before the traffic signal will change. There is also always a countdown timer.<ref name=":2" />

===Variations===
[[File:RocherBayardDinant.JPG|thumb|right|upright|A pedestrian crossing with a [[Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals|Vienna Convention standard]] sign indicating to motorists that they must give priority to pedestrians using it]]
In some countries, instead of "don't walk", a depiction of a red man or hand indicating when not to cross, the drawing of the person crossing appears with an "X" drawn over it.

Some countries around the Baltic Sea in Scandinavia duplicate the red light. Instead of one red light, there are two which both illuminate at the same time.

In many parts of eastern Germany, particularly the former [[German Democratic Republic]], the design of the crossing man ([[Ampelmännchen]]) has a hat. There are also female ''Ampelmännchen'' in western Germany and the Netherlands.<ref name=":1" /> Other countries also use unusual "walk" and "don't walk" pedestrian indicators. In southwest [[Yokohama]], [[Kanagawa Prefecture]], there are pedestrian signal lights that resemble [[Astro Boy (character)|Astro Boy]].<ref name="Metcalfe 2014">{{cite news |last=Metcalfe |first=John |title=Japan Now Has a Traffic Signal Shaped Like Astro Boy |newspaper=Bloomberg |date=19 November 2014 |url=http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/11/japan-now-has-a-traffic-signal-shaped-like-astro-boy/382925/ |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref> In [[Lisbon]], some signals have a "don't walk" indicator that dances; these "dancing man" signals, created by [[Daimler AG]], were created to encourage pedestrians to wait for the "walk" indicator, with the result that 81% more pedestrians stopped and waited for the "walk" light compared to at crosswalks with conventional signals.<ref>{{cite web |last=Liszewski |first=Andrew |title=Waiting for 'Don't Walk' Signs Is More Fun When the Stick Figure Dances |website=Gizmodo |date=16 September 2014 |url=https://gizmodo.com/waiting-for-dont-walk-signs-is-more-fun-when-the-stick-1635478139 |access-date=10 March 2017}}</ref>

=== Leading Pedestrian Interval ===
In some areas, the signal timing technique of a Leading Pedestrian Interval (LPI) allows pedestrians exclusive access to a crosswalk, typically 3–7 seconds, before vehicular traffic is permitted.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/intersection-design-elements/traffic-signals/leading-pedestrian-interval/|title=Leading Pedestrian Interval|website=National Association of City Transportation Officials|date=30 August 2013 |language=en-US|access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://highways.dot.gov/safety/proven-safety-countermeasures/leading-pedestrian-interval|title=Proven Safety Countermeasures - Leading Pedestrian Intervals - Safety {{!}} Federal Highway Administration|website=[[Federal Highway Administration|Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)]]|language=en|access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref> Depending on intersection volume and safety history, a normal right-turn-on-red (RTOR) might be explicitly prohibited during the LPI phase.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/saferjourney1/library/countermeasures/44.htm|title=Right Turn on Red Restrictions|website=[[Federal Highway Administration|Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)]]|access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref> LPI benefits include increased visibility and greater likelihood of vehicles yielding. LPI is among the tools being considered in the fatality-elimination toolkit of [[Vision Zero]] planners and advocates.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/01/the-incredibly-cheap-street-fix-that-saves-lives/551498/|title=The Best Cheap Street Fix|last=Bliss|first=Laura|date=26 January 2018|newspaper=Bloomberg|language=en|access-date=11 January 2019}}</ref>

===Temporary signals===
[[File:Portable pedestrian crossing signals.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Portable pedestrian crossing signal at a road work site]]
In certain circumstances, there are needs to install temporary pedestrian crossing signals. The reasons may include redirecting traffic due to [[roadworks]], closing of the permanent crossing signals due to repairs or upgrades, and establishing new pedestrian crossings for the duration of large public events.

The temporary pedestrian crossings can be integrated into portable traffic signals that may be used during the roadworks, or it can be stand-alone just to stop vehicles to allow pedestrians to safely cross the road without directing vehicle movements. When using the temporary pedestrian crossings signals for roadworks, there should be consideration on signal cycle time. The pedestrian crossing cycles may add longer delay to the traffics which may require additional planning on road work traffic flows.

Depending on the duration and the nature of the temporary signals, the equipment can be installed in different way. One way is to use the permanent traffic signals mounted temporary poles such as poles in concrete-filled barrels. Another way is to use portable pedestrian crossing signals.<ref>{{cite news |title=Signal-Controlled Pedestrian Facilities at Portable Traffic Signals |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4392/3-11.pdf |access-date=19 May 2014 |newspaper=Department for Transport (United Kingdom) |date=June 2011 |type=Traffic Advisory Leaflet}}</ref>