Pedestrian crossing buttons

Every issue, all time, most people first

1. Button-activated crossings make pedestrians wait when no one else crossesUnreviewed

   7 people since 2015, in 5 different years · none this year

   20102026
   • Button press gives no feedback; light delays 30 seconds with no cars, so people cross anyway2025-01-14
   • Button-activated crossings make pedestrians wait even when no one else is crossing2023-12-01
   • Walk shows for 3 seconds, so drivers ignore pedestrians who are still crossing2023-11-05
   Something wrong here?

2. Button looks like a plain surface, so people must discover it is pressableUnreviewed

   5 people since 2015, in 3 different years · none this year

   20102026
   • No way to tell which buttons actually do anything, so must press all2019-01-25
   • Touch buttons give no haptic feedback, so users can't tell if they pressed2019-01-25
   • Button looks like a plain surface, so people must discover that it is pressable2016-09-10
   Something wrong here?

3. Waiting up to five minutes for the walk light to turn onUnreviewed

   3 people since 2013, in 3 different years · none this year

   20102026
   • Waiting up to five minutes for the walk light to turn on2022-12-20
   • Pedestrians wait over a minute for the walk light to turn green2020-02-10
   • Light takes about four minutes to change, so drivers wait on empty roads2013-09-04
   Something wrong here?

4. Walk light activates seconds after touch, so people press harderUnreviewed

   3 people since 2016, in 3 different years · none this year

   20102026
   • Button press takes about 20 seconds to change lights, with no immediate response2023-11-30
   • Easy to forget pressing, so the person waits a full light cycle2018-09-04
   • Light activates seconds after touch, so people think it failed and press harder2016-09-10
   Something wrong here?

5. Deaf pedestrians can't tell whether their button press registeredUnreviewed

   3 people since 2010, in 3 different years · none this year

   20102026
   • Deaf pedestrians can't tell whether their press registered on the crosswalk button2023-11-30
   • Blind user can't tell whether the button actually did anything2016-09-10
   • Many crosswalk buttons are disabled, so pressing them does nothing and users can't tell which work2010-07-29
   Something wrong here?

This list counts all time; the period switch above only changes the ranking. Each issue is a group of similar complaints raised by at least 3 people in 3 different months and threads. Each line under an issue is Claude Haiku's summary of one of its latest comments, not a quote; follow it to read the comment on Hacker News.