| Pedestrian Crossings: Push Button Secrets |
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| Written by Stacy Loe - sloe@kgmb9.com | |||
| May 20, 2008 06:12 PM | |||
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We all press them, those pedestrian buttons at crosswalks. Some do it more than others. Shawn Bush does… every time. Do you think it makes it go faster? “I am assuming that it's going to speed up so I can cross the street quicker,” said Bush. He's wrong, it's a myth. “What the button does is it makes the walk man come on and ensures you enough time to cross safely,” said city traffic engineer Ty Fukumitsu. That's important, because at some intersections like this one at Kapiolani and Mahukona... If you don't press the button, the walk signal doesn't come up even on the green light. So what do you do? “I actually do cross when it's red. “Yes, I do cross” But you shouldn't. The city says it's illegal even if you're sure there's the crossing is safe, it's considered jaywalking. If you are caught, that's a 130 dollar ticket Amanda Dobos says she never crosses when the red hand is up. “I don't know how much time I have to cross and I don't want to get hit or struck down,” said Dobos. At other intersections, if you don't touch the button the crosswalk signals changes automatically. The city says that happens on the busier streets, such as King and Beretania, or older intersections more than 30 years old. “It's probably one of the weirdest things.” “It's the only one I've seen like it.” But at Keeaumoku and Makaloa near Walmart, something different happens altogether. If you press the button once the countdown already hits zero, the walk signal will pop up again. “We are about to cross and then it goes to zero and then you are like stop, everybody stop. And then all of a sudden it goes back to walk and then we are like should we go?” said Bush. We asked the city to explain it. “That's what we call a typical traffic signal. It's working on demand,” said Fukumitsu. In other words it works on a censor. Pedestrians are given more time to cross Makaloa Street if there are no cars that want to turn right. Got it? Before we go, something I've always wondered about. Does it matter how many times you press the button? “No, it doesn't, but at least it gives the pedestrian something to do in the crosswalk,” said Fukumitsu. These special reports, in partnership with the Honolulu Advertiser, are loaded information on how to protect yourself and identify danger zones.              |
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| Last Updated ( May 23, 2008 10:57 PM ) | |||
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