Joe Bikerider

It’s been a longtime bother for me, the riders who don’t push the button to activate the crossing signal. Just now while riding home I came up to see a rider on the other side of the road just standing there. I dutifully pushed the button and she came across. As she was passing I remarked at her inability to push the button on her side. The response I got leaves me flabbergasted. She insisted that she would rather not create a backup of “30 idling cars with all their pollution”.

As she rode by I further remarked “you just made me do it”. Doubt she heard me. I give her credit for thinking about her actions. But I am still left wondering. In my perfect world when you get to a crossing with a button you push it. Is that wrong?

Polaris OBark

Her assumption is that the button over-rides the default timer, but modern (eg, last 40 years) traffic signals are actuated by traffic. The button is there so you don't have to wait for Godot or a passing car in your direction to activate it for you.

RCMoeur 

At many signals or beacons where a minor street or path is crossing an arterial street, especially in suburban or rural areas, the signal or beacon won't change unless a call is received by the signal controller. Some traffic signals are set for recall where the minor or path movement is serviced after a x-minute interval, but many aren't. Some urban intersections are set for pre-timed cycles without detection - these can have pedestrian signals, but often have no pushbuttons as the pedestrian phases are activated every cycle.

Devices such as flashing or hybrid beacons when activated can increase yielding rates to crossing pedestrian traffic from almost zero to nearly 100% for PHBs. However, if the button is not pushed at a path crossing with a flashing or hybrid beacon, then it's very unlikely to activate. In light traffic conditions where there are large gaps between vehicles on the street, path users will often scan for a gap and proceed if they think they have a sufficient gap to cross, ignoring the beacon and pedestrian indication. If there is heavy traffic a non-button-pusher could be there for a while, or worse attempt a crossing where there might not be an adequate gap.

If a person at an intersection or crossing chooses not to push the button, that's their decision. But it may mean they won't get the signal or beacon helping them out, and a crossing movement could violate law if a ped or colored signal is controlling their movement.

Now two peeves:
1) Some agencies delay the activation of a crossing beacon to coordinate with adjacent signals or platoon progression. However, the initial research showed that crossers that weren't serviced by the beacon soon after the button push were much more likely to engage in riskier crossing behavior or ignore the device, reducing its effectiveness.
2) Some pedestrians can't easily push buttons, even the newer ADA-compliant ones, and bicyclists dislike having to pull to the side or dismount to push. Unfortunately, passive pedestrian detection (such as heat, radar, cameras, etc.) are still a technology in development, and to my understanding are still quite prone to false calls or non-calls for himan-size road users, unlike their success in detecting motor vehicles. Reliable affordable passive pedestrian / bicycle detection would eliminate the need for most pushbuttons. But we're not there yet.