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Strategies for Visually Impaired Pedestrians at Modern Signals

KEY PRINCIPLES:

Where right-turn-on-red laws are in effect, we cannot infer anything about the signal from the movement of right-turning vehicles.

(Principle found in Signalized Traffic Patterns.)

At actuated intersections, press the pedestrian pushbutton
and then start crossing when the WALK signal is on.

(Principle found in Actuation.)

When you do not have access to the pedestrian signal, the most reliable strategy for crossing with the WALK signal is to
1) press the pedestrian pushbutton appropriately and
2) cross with the surge of the near-lane-parallel traffic,
but be aware that there are exceptions where this strategy is not reliable.

(Principle found in Signalized Traffic Patterns.)

Right-Turn-On-Red laws

At actuated intersections, press the pedestrian pushbutton and then start crossing when the WALK signal is on.

Press the button, or press your luck!

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION:

It is estimated that about 90% of traffic signals in the U.S. are actuated. Most of them are outside of downtown areas.
At actuated signals, it is not possible to predict the pattern of the traffic movement, nor how long any green signal will last.
Therefore, in order to ensure that pedestrians have adequate time to cross at actuated signals, they need to:
- press the pedestrian pushbutton, and then
- cross with the WALK signal (click here to learn about situations at actuated intersections where there are no pedestrian pushbuttons or WALK signals).

IMPLICATIONS:

Find the correct pushbutton for your crosswalk (assuming there IS one!)
HINT: Be sure to maintain your orientation while looking for the pushbutton; research revealed that this is a problem for many people, even with an APS.

To find the pushbutton, you can either:
- listen for a pushbutton locator tone and use the sound to locate the pushbutton, or
- use a systematic search pattern (an example is illustrated in the video):
  - starting at your crosswalk, turn away from the parallel street and search for the pushbutton pole along perpendicular street, moving the cane from side to side and reaching as far as you can, proceeding like this until you think it is unlikely that the pushbutton could be any further. Then walk back to the corner while searching where you had not searched before (further from the perpendicular street than you had been), trying to cover every inch where it could be.
  - If you can't find the pushbutton along the perpendicular street, do the same search pattern along the parallel street.
    Continue searching systematically until the pushbutton is located or until you conclude that perhaps there is no pedestrian pushbutton (if that is the case, you'll need to consider the risks of crossing with no pedestrian pusbutton).
  When you find the pushbutton, try to confirm that it is for your crosswalk by looking for a tactile arrow pointing parallel to the direction of the crossing (a standard feature on Accessible Pedestrian Signals). If there is no tactile arrow and there is no one to ask, and you find a second pushbutton nearby or on the same pole, press them both to make sure that the pushbutton for your crossing has been pressed.
Press the pushbutton at the very beginning of the traffic surge / green signal for the perpendicular street if you want to help assure that . . .
- . . . the WALK signal will begin the next time the near-lane-parallel traffic has the green signal.
- . . . you have enough time to get to the corner and align.
Align to cross
Begin crossing when the WALK signal is on.

If you miss the appropriate crossing opportunity, go back and press the pushbutton again to have the WALK signal during the next cycle.

Putting it all together!
Below is a recommended sequence that pedestrians who are blind can use
for crossing unfamiliar streets at intersections with pushbuttons.

Approach the perpendicular street and maintain alignment of travel all the way to the curb/ramp.
Find a unique, easily-recognizable permanent tactile landmark that can be used to locate where to wait to cross after pressing the pushbutton.
Analyze the intersection traffic patterns and geometry and establish your alignment (with assistance if necessary).
As you stand in alignment, use your skills to memorize how you are facing in relation to the curb or other features when you are lined up, so that you can reestablish alignment after pushing the button.
Leave the curb and find the correct pushbutton, either by listening for the locator tone or using a systematic search pattern. While searching for the pushbutton, be sure to maintain orientation and awareness of location of the streets, and make sure you find the correct pushbutton.
Wait until the very beginning of the traffic surge / green signal of the perpendicular street, and press the pushbutton (if you can't be sure which is the correct one, press the pushbuttons for both streets).
Immediately after pressing your pushbutton, walk back to the tactile landmark you found on your initial approach to the corner, and use the tactile features that you had memorized (in Step #4) to get realigned and wait for your turn to cross.
HINT: If you don't have enough time to align, or if you do not get a surge of parallel traffic, go press the pusbutton for crossing the parallel street, then press your pushbutton when the perpendicular street signal first turns green.
Begin crossing when the WALK signal is on. If you don’t have access to the pedestrian signal and this crossing is not one of the exceptions, cross at the next surge of the near-lane-parallel traffic.
If you can't cross at the appropriate time, go back and press the pushbutton again as per step 6, and proceed with steps 7-9.

NOTE: Once pedestrians are familiar with the crossing and how to align, they can skip the first 5 steps and proceed directly to find the pushbutton, and follow steps 6 through 9.

When you do not have access to the pedestrian signal and you’ve pressed the pushbutton correctly, the most reliable strategy for crossing with the WALK signal is to cross with the surge of the near-lane-parallel traffic.

the one thing that most modern signal designs have in common is that when near-lane-parallel traffic starts to move, pedestrians who pressed the pushbutton will get the WALK signal and have the right of way

So, when the pedestrian signal is not accessible to you, one way to be as confident as possible that you have the WALK signal is to cross with the surge of near-lane-parallel traffic

Near-Lane-Parallel Traffic

Teaching Ideas and Strategies

However, it is important to note that there are exceptions to this rule

leading pedestrian interval

exclusive pedestrian phasing

STUDY QUESTIONS
for this section.

Proceed to "Risks: Assessment and Mitigation, Decisions and Alternatives"