Press any of the roughly 2,400 street-corner buttons that claim to control traffic signals for pedestrians in New York, and the chances are only one in four that they will actually work.
The vast majority were disconnected, some of them years ago, as traffic signals were computerized.
Now, the city has installed a dozen bright yellow audio signal boxes that seem guaranteed to frustrate pedestrians even more — unless they happen to be visually impaired.
“To cross, push button,” the new signals say after a button is pushed to activate it. Sometimes, instead of a verbal command, the sign shows a walking stick figure.
But there is no indication on the boxes that they are intended solely for people who are visually impaired or that pushing the button has any impact whatsoever on the timing of the traffic lights.
They are simply there to tell visually impaired pedestrians when they have the cross signal making it safe to proceed. The boxes also emit a constant beeping sound to alert those who are blind.
The boxes have been placed mostly near high-traffic areas around the city for visually impaired people who have been trained to recognize their bright yellow color, a pea-size blinking red light and an audible beep.
A hockey puck-size button includes an arrow pointing in the direction that pedestrians would cross the street. When the button is pressed and the traffic light is green, a voice says, “Walk sign is on to cross,” and identifies the name of the street. If the light is red, the voice says, “Wait.”
Some of the signals also explain in words and symbols what the regular walk-don’t walk signals mean, although it is unclear whether they are large enough for a visually impaired person, much less a blind one, to read. A lighted stick figure means it is safe to cross, but watch for vehicles. A flashing hand-shaped light means “don’t start — finish crossing if started.” A steady hand means do not cross.
A dozen signals, which cost $500 each, have been installed since 2006 at intersections near institutions that serve the blind in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens and on Staten Island. More are planned.
Cynthia Stuen, senior vice president for policy, evaluation and education at Lighthouse International, an advocacy and education group, said that visually impaired people find the signals quite helpful. She wishes there were more of them.
“In an ideal world,” Dr. Stuen said, “if you were starting from scratch and every traffic signal were new, these audio signals should be built in everywhere.”
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