Do they ever? You don’t get to control traffic as a random person on the street—for anything that’s not a super low traffic street, mostly in residential areas. Maybe it works like the weight sensors at stop lights, where it doesn’t exactly change the cycle, it just lets the system know not to keep the most heavily trafficked road going?

I’d imagine. I dunno. I just always assumed they did nothing.

[–] melooone@feddit.de 6 points 6 months ago

In my city there is a T intersection where the top part of the T is a busy road with a traffic light and I once saw some kids pressing the button as a "joke" when they are not even crossing. Usually its always green but if it turns red it causes a huge lineup of cars, especially during rush hour.

[–] onion@feddit.de 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

There are pedestrian crossings that are not at an intersection but a straight road, where pressing the button does stop the cars for you to cross. There is no cycle, the cars have green until someone wants to cross

[–] TheFriar@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago

Yeah, that’s what I meant. I’ve seen those, there are a bunch in my parents neighborhood. I meant more at like a four way intersection. The button don’t do shit when traffic lights are timed.

And later at night in slower areas with less traffic, the more “main” road of the two intersecting will stay green until a car comes and stops at the red light on the less traveled road. In that instance, the crosswalk button might do something.

[–] powermaker450@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 6 months ago

where I live the traffic patterns continue as usual, just no activation of the walking lights. so essentially useless.

[–] hex@programming.dev 1 points 6 months ago

The ones in my town do trigger a light cycle if it's a light that's always on one way.