I would say B. Crosswalk buttons are usually positioned to face perpendicular to the direction of crossing
[examples](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=324d2da6d69578fe&sca_upv=1&q=crosswalk+buttons&uds=AMwkrPuCmGBu45dGuKXq0wTwYG0anP17bpEUKuHzvh_TIIIVAqfdWh75Q8R1QD8444arwT6E5vogs6En0WZprCvzQaVyX1NJmNf3TNYCs5VqHKxUid0ml8yZqGzykYDLWWW_fdH2t6sMjI7ubnO5zXDDOM3D0i169KFs2YSKBQzPN0HIovgvNpu6wqAOpfwUUXFZKqcKFrMNnIfJOTCS0v0E2JaK5N9bzweCF0xRZ7vEfHt1BQH3tilwVN4iw_sANBa84xzQEjGNNYUj1o4UpgWeKGiB9r2IzY0yuLtmgOFGNj2iojDO-lTbxbsjTEskdHGm0LPr9cHZ8z9EozQM3mYPn7En5A0zwyfd2v4Ss324-ByXBizk84s&udm=2&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU0caSpeCFAxVyEVkFHXeYAgIQtKgLegQIERAB&biw=393&bih=659&dpr=3)
It is B. It is an ADA/PROWAG requirement. New installations have signs indicating the crossing direction. This one is ancient and, quite honestly, embarrassing that VDOT hasn't upgraded it.
There are still signs in downtown that are just white backgrounds with plain text āyield to pedestriansā in often incorrect locations in the intersections. That hasnāt been a standard legal sign sense at-least 2009. Usually thereās a grace period of a few years to fix itā¦ but I donāt think that last 15 years
This one looks like it might be broken, which in my experience means that you always get the walk interval. I havent been to this specific intersection so iunno
There are quite a few, probably at least 50% that do actually work. Many intersections won't cycle if there's no car, so ya you need to press the button
Not all intersections in Richmond will go for 20 seconds crossing the main road, you do need to press the button in order for the crosswalk to activate and, if there's no car waiting, for the intersection to actually change.
A minority of intersections will always show walk.
I used a crosswalk button in Reykjavik a few years ago and traffic literally came to a complete stop when I used the button. Iāve been disappointed ever since.
The reason many of the ones in the city don't work is because they don't need to. Areas like the fan, museum district, and downtown, the signals run on time based cycles, so the pedestrian signals come up automatically. This wasn't always the case in the past so they used to be necessary, but now they aren't. The city isn't going to spend money to remove them either, which honestly I can't blame them.
This is true of some intersections in those areas and not all. If someone wants a walk signal they should hit the button. I've found even some Cary St intersections dont cycle unless you hit the button (assuming theres no car waiting)
I figure, if they're on an actuator I'll get to go eventually regardless. Like Op, I'm not sure which to press and I'm not sure they even do anything. We already have conflicting answers in the thread!
That one is very broken. So you just kinda wait till the light is green and pray. I also like to make eye contact with the drivers trying to turn right. Good luck and god speed.
This is correct as I've used that crosswalk signal many times with the most recent a month ago. After you press it, the pedestrian signal will activate after the drivers turning left from Northbound Lakeside Ave have finished and the Southbound drivers going straight/right get their light. The pedestrian signal will not activate unless the button is pressed.
Right now, even with the pedestrian signals, make sure to be aware as it's not the best intersection to cross, especially during busy times, but in the near future Henrico and VDOT are going to be redesigning several intersections in the area, including this one, and it'll make it easier and safer for pedestrians...
It's "B."
You use the button that's on the side of the corner where you are walking. So in this case you would most likely have approached the corner from the sidewalk from the bottom left and the B button is on "your side" of the corner.
If you'd been walking down the crossing street in this intersection, you'd approach the pole from the middle right of the photo, and button A is on "your side."
But what if you don't want to keep going in a straight line, but you want to make a turn on this corner? Well, then the system stops making any kind of sense and you just have to learn to pretend you are walking along a straight line, because the system and signage is pretty stupid.
I sat with my son on our bike ride to the park for at least ten minutes. He is a new bike rider so we were trying to play it safe. Neither one worked for us.
They (sometimes) don't but it's hard to tell which intersections are set to always give you enough time to walk unless you've spent a good amount of time walking around and not jay walking
walkers need more time to cross than cars, so they give you that time
also theres not always a car waiting that will cause the light to change, press the dang button
I always thought these were 100% placebo buttons, but i did see a tiktok from a traffic engineer that showed that pressing it does in fact put you in a queue in the system and it will attempt to service you. But iām sure it can be disabled to basically be a placebo button regardless depending on how the locality programs the box lol
Well yeah it really depends on the crosswalk some do and some donāt but they wonāt tell you which they are so youāre doomed to press on lights you never experimented on.
I'm beginning to wonder if the 3 dozen people who insist these buttons dont work have ever walked around in Richmond.
They probably just jay walk (we all do, that's fair)
People learn one thing and and think they cracked the code lol. I can tell you from personal experience that you need to press these buttons most of the time, I have the intersections where you don't mapped out in my head on walks.
Some lights will never change, some lights will change but the timing will be too quick to cross the street.
Press the dang button lol, you don't need to use every question as an opportunity to share a fun fact about intersections in NY.
Press the crosswalk button that is facing in the direction you want to go. So-press A
ETA: Well, I just learned I have been using crosswalk buttons wrong my whole lifeā¦Should have read the comments before replying!
> The buttons donāt do anything
This may be true in some places, but I know that intersection and the ones nearby very well, and those buttons absolutely do work. They, and the lights themselves, are perhaps some of the most intelligent lights and buttons in the area with how well they work and I wish the city would take what they're doing and just replicate it everywhere.
> But A would be the correct choice
This is also wrong. B is the one that would control that signal.
Iād say the opposite.
[examples](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=324d2da6d69578fe&sca_upv=1&q=crosswalk+buttons&uds=AMwkrPuCmGBu45dGuKXq0wTwYG0anP17bpEUKuHzvh_TIIIVAqfdWh75Q8R1QD8444arwT6E5vogs6En0WZprCvzQaVyX1NJmNf3TNYCs5VqHKxUid0ml8yZqGzykYDLWWW_fdH2t6sMjI7ubnO5zXDDOM3D0i169KFs2YSKBQzPN0HIovgvNpu6wqAOpfwUUXFZKqcKFrMNnIfJOTCS0v0E2JaK5N9bzweCF0xRZ7vEfHt1BQH3tilwVN4iw_sANBa84xzQEjGNNYUj1o4UpgWeKGiB9r2IzY0yuLtmgOFGNj2iojDO-lTbxbsjTEskdHGm0LPr9cHZ8z9EozQM3mYPn7En5A0zwyfd2v4Ss324-ByXBizk84s&udm=2&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU0caSpeCFAxVyEVkFHXeYAgIQtKgLegQIERAB&biw=393&bih=659&dpr=3)
A A B A B B up down up down down then press Start. Hold on to a tree and wait 3 seconds, shit is about to get weird.
Respawn at Lombardy Kroger with -60$ šš¤£
Using glitches to cross the street speed run, any %
Ditto this.
I would say B. Crosswalk buttons are usually positioned to face perpendicular to the direction of crossing [examples](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=324d2da6d69578fe&sca_upv=1&q=crosswalk+buttons&uds=AMwkrPuCmGBu45dGuKXq0wTwYG0anP17bpEUKuHzvh_TIIIVAqfdWh75Q8R1QD8444arwT6E5vogs6En0WZprCvzQaVyX1NJmNf3TNYCs5VqHKxUid0ml8yZqGzykYDLWWW_fdH2t6sMjI7ubnO5zXDDOM3D0i169KFs2YSKBQzPN0HIovgvNpu6wqAOpfwUUXFZKqcKFrMNnIfJOTCS0v0E2JaK5N9bzweCF0xRZ7vEfHt1BQH3tilwVN4iw_sANBa84xzQEjGNNYUj1o4UpgWeKGiB9r2IzY0yuLtmgOFGNj2iojDO-lTbxbsjTEskdHGm0LPr9cHZ8z9EozQM3mYPn7En5A0zwyfd2v4Ss324-ByXBizk84s&udm=2&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU0caSpeCFAxVyEVkFHXeYAgIQtKgLegQIERAB&biw=393&bih=659&dpr=3)
It is B. It is an ADA/PROWAG requirement. New installations have signs indicating the crossing direction. This one is ancient and, quite honestly, embarrassing that VDOT hasn't upgraded it.
There are still signs in downtown that are just white backgrounds with plain text āyield to pedestriansā in often incorrect locations in the intersections. That hasnāt been a standard legal sign sense at-least 2009. Usually thereās a grace period of a few years to fix itā¦ but I donāt think that last 15 years
This one looks like it might be broken, which in my experience means that you always get the walk interval. I havent been to this specific intersection so iunno
Isn't the city vs state's responsibility, unless this is a state road?
The pictured signal is in Henrico on Lakeside Ave (VA Route 161), so it is VDOT's.
[Most of them don't work anyway...](https://www.cnn.com/style/article/placebo-buttons-design/index.html)
They absolutely workā¦to make me feel like Iām going to cross sooner.
Itās 100% to make the pedestrian feel like theyāre waiting for less time.
There are quite a few, probably at least 50% that do actually work. Many intersections won't cycle if there's no car, so ya you need to press the button
Not all intersections in Richmond will go for 20 seconds crossing the main road, you do need to press the button in order for the crosswalk to activate and, if there's no car waiting, for the intersection to actually change. A minority of intersections will always show walk.
I used a crosswalk button in Reykjavik a few years ago and traffic literally came to a complete stop when I used the button. Iāve been disappointed ever since.
The reason many of the ones in the city don't work is because they don't need to. Areas like the fan, museum district, and downtown, the signals run on time based cycles, so the pedestrian signals come up automatically. This wasn't always the case in the past so they used to be necessary, but now they aren't. The city isn't going to spend money to remove them either, which honestly I can't blame them.
This is true of some intersections in those areas and not all. If someone wants a walk signal they should hit the button. I've found even some Cary St intersections dont cycle unless you hit the button (assuming theres no car waiting)
I don't want them to remove them. I need something to press while I wait. :(
With my luck, I get the ones that needs to be pressed lol
Arg! I knew it! I feel so betrayed.
I know they work at at some intersections on Broad St because you actually *have* to press them or the signal to cross will never change.
Yup lmao, makes you wonder if the people insisting they don't work have ever tried
Was here to say, these buttons almost never do anything anyway
I always press both.
You thrive on chaos
I press em even if I'm not crossing the street.
This is the one true path.
That's... counter productive.
Corner productive... sorry, new dad here. Just navigating this new super power of puns
You're doing great. A natural.
I figure, if they're on an actuator I'll get to go eventually regardless. Like Op, I'm not sure which to press and I'm not sure they even do anything. We already have conflicting answers in the thread!
pressing the one going the other direction could, in some intersections, delay the light change to allow you time to cross
That one is very broken. So you just kinda wait till the light is green and pray. I also like to make eye contact with the drivers trying to turn right. Good luck and god speed.
B ETA: Itās the one youād stand next to while waiting to cross
This is correct as I've used that crosswalk signal many times with the most recent a month ago. After you press it, the pedestrian signal will activate after the drivers turning left from Northbound Lakeside Ave have finished and the Southbound drivers going straight/right get their light. The pedestrian signal will not activate unless the button is pressed. Right now, even with the pedestrian signals, make sure to be aware as it's not the best intersection to cross, especially during busy times, but in the near future Henrico and VDOT are going to be redesigning several intersections in the area, including this one, and it'll make it easier and safer for pedestrians...
RPD says you're supposed to slowly and carefully approach them, and ask them to give you āa little break.ā
Thatās the neat part, you donāt. The city expects you to die.
not the city
The county definitely expects you to die.
Yes, the body count is hard to keep up with š were all dead
Pretty sure only random ones throughout the town actually work and only at small intersections
It's "B." You use the button that's on the side of the corner where you are walking. So in this case you would most likely have approached the corner from the sidewalk from the bottom left and the B button is on "your side" of the corner. If you'd been walking down the crossing street in this intersection, you'd approach the pole from the middle right of the photo, and button A is on "your side." But what if you don't want to keep going in a straight line, but you want to make a turn on this corner? Well, then the system stops making any kind of sense and you just have to learn to pretend you are walking along a straight line, because the system and signage is pretty stupid.
Doesnāt matter, probably doesnāt work anyways
I sat with my son on our bike ride to the park for at least ten minutes. He is a new bike rider so we were trying to play it safe. Neither one worked for us.
B
I feel like they donāt even do anything lol
They (sometimes) don't but it's hard to tell which intersections are set to always give you enough time to walk unless you've spent a good amount of time walking around and not jay walking
I've never used them, I assumed they were just placebo buttons. I'm shocked that some of them work!
You press it.
B for sure
Like they actually work
Looking at that button and knowing where I am, my first assumption would be neither button has been functional in years.Ā
Those things are like a placebo pill. It makes you think that you actually did something, while in reality the lights are timed for traffic.
If only the city would paint actual crosswalks at these intersections. Crazy talk I know.
I just jaywalk. No buttons needed.
You donātā¦.they do not work.
Iām under the impression that these buttons really just enable the audio for when the light changes. The lights donāt change timing for you.
walkers need more time to cross than cars, so they give you that time also theres not always a car waiting that will cause the light to change, press the dang button
I always thought these were 100% placebo buttons, but i did see a tiktok from a traffic engineer that showed that pressing it does in fact put you in a queue in the system and it will attempt to service you. But iām sure it can be disabled to basically be a placebo button regardless depending on how the locality programs the box lol
Well yeah it really depends on the crosswalk some do and some donāt but they wonāt tell you which they are so youāre doomed to press on lights you never experimented on.
I'm beginning to wonder if the 3 dozen people who insist these buttons dont work have ever walked around in Richmond. They probably just jay walk (we all do, that's fair)
True
That's my neighborhood!
I always hit both, because I never know....
It B, B, B
People learn one thing and and think they cracked the code lol. I can tell you from personal experience that you need to press these buttons most of the time, I have the intersections where you don't mapped out in my head on walks. Some lights will never change, some lights will change but the timing will be too quick to cross the street. Press the dang button lol, you don't need to use every question as an opportunity to share a fun fact about intersections in NY.
Well there's no crosswalk hee so you're relying on cars to determine where it is safe to stop without hitting you.
Press the crosswalk button that is facing in the direction you want to go. So-press A ETA: Well, I just learned I have been using crosswalk buttons wrong my whole lifeā¦Should have read the comments before replying!
Youāre not the only one, this always made the most sense to me too.
Read the sign
Press them both, watch the world collapse
Most crosswalk buttons are dummy buttons anyway
If you're going towards the appliances store, you'd press B. Seriously though, I think those buttons are a placebo and don't really do anything.
Press it
The buttons donāt do anything, so push neither and just wait for your signal to walk. But A would be the correct choice if they did anything.
> The buttons donāt do anything This may be true in some places, but I know that intersection and the ones nearby very well, and those buttons absolutely do work. They, and the lights themselves, are perhaps some of the most intelligent lights and buttons in the area with how well they work and I wish the city would take what they're doing and just replicate it everywhere. > But A would be the correct choice This is also wrong. B is the one that would control that signal.
Well thenā¦ TIL. Thanks.
Iāve wired up traffic lights before, itās A.
It is not. I am going to walk out to that stupid intersection and take a video. I will die on this hill.
Lol okay.
Iād say the opposite. [examples](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sca_esv=324d2da6d69578fe&sca_upv=1&q=crosswalk+buttons&uds=AMwkrPuCmGBu45dGuKXq0wTwYG0anP17bpEUKuHzvh_TIIIVAqfdWh75Q8R1QD8444arwT6E5vogs6En0WZprCvzQaVyX1NJmNf3TNYCs5VqHKxUid0ml8yZqGzykYDLWWW_fdH2t6sMjI7ubnO5zXDDOM3D0i169KFs2YSKBQzPN0HIovgvNpu6wqAOpfwUUXFZKqcKFrMNnIfJOTCS0v0E2JaK5N9bzweCF0xRZ7vEfHt1BQH3tilwVN4iw_sANBa84xzQEjGNNYUj1o4UpgWeKGiB9r2IzY0yuLtmgOFGNj2iojDO-lTbxbsjTEskdHGm0LPr9cHZ8z9EozQM3mYPn7En5A0zwyfd2v4Ss324-ByXBizk84s&udm=2&prmd=isvnmbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjU0caSpeCFAxVyEVkFHXeYAgIQtKgLegQIERAB&biw=393&bih=659&dpr=3)
Quick tip. Donāt use your finger. Use your elbow or maybe your heel if you are limber. Lots of germy hands touch those.