[foxyv]

The only Beg Button I think is worth a flying fig is one that interrupts the cycle. Pedestrians and cyclists should be first class road users. When they push the button it should immediately interrupt the car traffic by cycling to yellow/red and allow the pedestrians to cross. I've spent as much as ten minutes at some intersections waiting to cross and then had to dodge right on red cars and people trying to beat the light. It's absolutely absurd.

Our cities have way over optimized for traffic flow of cars.

Edit: Also, I think crosswalks should be signalized away from intersections with level crossing and dedicated walking paths separate from road noise/pollution. Making people cross at an intersection is way too dangerous.

[dylan604]

One late night, I was at a stop light on a side street intersecting with a major 8 lane road. No cars were really coming from any direction, yet, the light would not change for me. Tempted to run the red, I noticed the crosswalk was ~10' from me. So instead of running the light, I jumped out to hit the crosswalk. Within seconds, the lights cycled. I was pleasantly surprised it worked.

[gs17]

The crosswalk buttons around me are a frustrating mess. I used to live on a street where the intersection to the main road had a sensor that either couldn't detect my car or just didn't work at all. The only way to get a green light was to have someone get out and hit the crosswalk button, which quickly changes the flow of car traffic.

Meanwhile, I have not seen this behavior anywhere else in the city where it would make sense. Instead, we have almost all crosswalk buttons that do nothing, a few that turn on a light so drivers can know you want to cross (they won't stop, but they'll know), and a few where you will never have a walk signal unless you hit the button, but the light timing does not change. I have watched plenty of tourists helplessly trapped at an intersection not knowing why it never changes.

[kjkjadksj]

I’ve seen a bus driver get out of the bus, run across the road, and press a crosswalk button to get a light to cycle quicker.

[bluGill]

Intersections should prioritize in order:

0: trains which cannot stop 1: emergency vehicles working a current emergency (when an emergency is not in progress they are 5) 2: pedestrians on foot (including manual wheelchairs) 3: buses in a bus-only lane 4: bicycles and other human powered wheeled transport (ebike count only if most power comes from humans). This includes electric wheelchairs. 5: everything else. Including buses in mixed traffic (which should only be done when traffic is so light that it doesn't matter)

This encourages the type of transport you want people to use in your city.