Does pushing the button to cross a street really work?

Question

It seems that the time it takes to change from green to red so I can cross the street does not matter if I push that button or not. I do it anyway almost to hope that it makes the light change faster. Does these buttons actually do anything?

Answer 1

At some intersections, yes. For example, there is an intersection by my old high school, on a main road. Basically, the light will take a long time to change unless a car pulls up to the exit, or someone hits the button to cross the street. Once the light is alerted to the presence of a car or pedestrian there, it will change pretty quickly, unless it had just changed.

Answer 2

The pedestrian push button does not immediately change the signal to allow you to cross.  It puts a 'call' in to the signal controller to  signify that someone is waiting to cross the street.  It works the same for the vehicle detectors.  If the signal is operating on a fixed time or semi-actuated operation, it has to finish what it is doing before you will get the pedestrian phase.  If it is a fully actuated signal, once it satisfies a minimum green time requirement, it can proceed to your pedestrian phase.  If the button is working properly, you need only push it once.  Just like an elevator, repeatedly pushing the call button does not make the car ascend or descend any faster.

Answer 3

dont beleave the hipe.d o t  is full of it.