Do crosswalk buttons actually do anything?

Question

It just seems like it doesn't matter if you push those things or not... you're still waiting.

Answer 1

They don't do a thing.

"Crosswalk buttons are fake. You suspect it. You know it in your gut. And in New York City, you are correct.

Brian Sidlo in Australia pointed me to a great New York Times article from 2004 that tells the story of crosswalk buttons in New York City. Nearly all of them are mechanical placebos. Pushing the button doesn’t do diddly. It only makes you feel good. And it works! You get results. Sure enough, when the light turns green, the crosswalk signal says Walk. You controlled the traffic. “The sign says push, so I push.”"

Answer 2

The timing of the lights is set and so pushing the button doesn't do anything. What it does do is change the light to show that there are pedestrians crossing to the traffic going with the green so that they look in the crosswalks before they barrel around a corner. If the pedestrian light isn't on then the pedestrians should not walk.

Answer 3

yes you still have to wait for the green walk to come on

but it will extend the green light/walk for you (the light wont

change as fast as if you didn't push the walk button

and also sometimes if you dont push the walk button

the dont walk sign stays on even though the traffic light

it self is green for that direction

Answer 4

At least, it'll give you a hope for a chance to cross the street.

Answer 5

They Dont Do Anything

Take It From Experience

Answer 6

Cross guard buttons dont do ****

Answer 7

It doesn't speed anything up, they're just supposed to flash the sign that says you can walk.

Answer 8

They're not just going to stop traffic right then and there. It lets the system know that there is someone waiting to cross so it can stop traffic accordingly