Crosswalk Button Racket
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Three things I learned from this article on New York City crosswalk buttons:
- Some buttons actually affect the walk/don't-walk signals.
- Most of the buttons do not do anything.
- It costs "$300 or $400 per intersection" to remove the inactive boxes. What. The. Fuck.
I've seen the inside of one in San Franciso. Nothing inside but a spring for the button. Thus proving what we knew all along.
Posted by: O'dell on March 2, 2004 5:43 PM | permalinkIn Glendale, California, you'll never get a 'walk' signal unless you push the button. It freaked me out the first time I visited our office there. People told me that you just do NOT cross without a signal there, so I'm standing there like a moron with a green traffic light, but the big orange hand on the pedestrian signal keeping me back.
Finally a native comes along, slaps the button and BANG -- the pedestrian signal goes all "walk" immediately.
Don't know if pressing it while the traffic signal is red does anything or not...
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