Pedestrians across Australia are pressing the button at traffic lights for no reason, most days of the week.
Information from Australia’s state transport authorities reveal that busy pedestrian crossings in our capital cities are so heavily automated that most of the time pressing the button has precisely zero effect.
In Sydney, pedestrian crossings in the CBD have been automated since 1994, leaving millions of commuters to futilely press placebo buttons for nearly 25 years, as the Sydney Morning Herald reported this week. In these automated systems, the green walk signal works on pre-determined cycles with set times.
Pedestrian buttons in the Sydney CBD are useless from 7am-7pm Monday to Wednesday, 7am-9pm Thursday and Friday, and 8.30am-9pm on Saturdays.
Crossings are also automated at seven sites in North Sydney – but only on weekdays during lunchtime – and at four sites in Parramatta.
In January, Transport for NSW shortened the automated wait time for pedestrians in the CBD from 110 seconds to 90 seconds. Studies have shown that shorter wait times benefit pedestrians, reduce jaywalking and accidents.
But Transport for NSW’s coordinator-general, Marg Prendergast, said Sydney’s 90-second wait time was frequently shorter in practice.
“The system is adaptive so when traffic volume is lower the pedestrian wait time is less than 90 seconds,” she said. “There are also many locations in the CBD where traffic signals operate with a double cycle, meaning pedestrians only wait 45 seconds to cross the road.
“The wait times were reduced to keep pedestrians moving and help reduce the risk of jaywalking and pedestrian crashes.”
In Melbourne, the majority of pedestrian lights in the CBD are automated from 5.30am to 12.30am each day.
The wait time varies between 65 to 90 seconds, said Sameem Moslih, the director of journey services for VicRoads.
Some intersections in Victoria also have new “puffin crossings”, with overhead detectors that can sense pedestrians and track their speed, increasing how long they have to cross, if need be.
In Western Australia, most crossings in the Perth CBD operate automatically during business hours, even on weekends.
Main Roads spokesman Dean Roberts said other crossings near major roads were also automated, but only when it did not adversely affect traffic.
In Queensland, a spokesman for Transport and Main Roads said it was general practice for state-controlled roads not to have automated crossing.
However, the intersection of Mains and Kessel Roads was the exception – it runs an automated cycle during special events at the nearby QSAC stadium, on a timer of between 130 and 150 seconds.
Other streets in Brisbane are under the jurisdiction of the Brisbane city council, which did not reply in time for publication.
Cities around the world have taken the lead in cutting pedestrian wait times, but many in Australia still lag behind.
In London, a new action plan to make it “the world’s most walkable city” has slashed wait times at some intersections to below 40 seconds. In Manchester, roughly 40% of buttons are placebos and have a maximum wait time of 60 seconds.
In New York (where more than 2,500 of the city’s 3,250 buttons have been deactivated), signal cycles take “typically 60, 90, or 120 seconds”.
