RustyFreewheel

Good question ..
.
Sign on a traffic pole:

Been waiting long?
That's because the council thinks someone in a car, half a kilometer away, is more important than you*.
They could make the lights change as soon as you press the button if they wanted, but they don't.
Complain to them 07 3403 4400.
A car moving at 50km/hr will travel almost half a kilometer in 30 seconds.

Feb 25 at 7:51amWeb
Show threadajft [SEC=continvoucly morged]Feb 25
@RustyFreewheel Scotchmans Creek Trail / Waverley Road needs one of these, with VicRoads and their contact number
Show threadK~Feb 25

@RustyFreewheel It is super frustrating to have to wait while a trickle of cars pass through.

Heavy traffic, road packed with cars... but every car has just one person and they are barely moving. Still have to wait, because cars are dangerous. But giving cars priority certainly is not help move people efficiently.

Show threadjustinFeb 25
@RustyFreewheel NZ: where even if it's slightly cloudy your local big boy ute hero will drive 15m to the letterbox.
Show threadbovazFeb 25
@RustyFreewheel I really wish cities around me "fought" against cars, by improving cycling and transit infrastructure and availability.
Show threadedafeFeb 26

@bovaz @RustyFreewheel

I really wish, but it could never happen.

Greetings from Germany.

Show threadbovazFeb 26
@me @RustyFreewheel yeah.

I feel that. Italy isn't better.
Show threadTubemeisterFeb 25
@RustyFreewheel Given that that would be an instant DOS attack by some random bored teenager, you can somehow sort of see why they don't instantly change the lights though.
Show threadEsteban Küber Feb 25
@Tubemeister @RustyFreewheel having a cooldown period is trivial and usually already part of the logic: you're only shortening the green light if there has been a minimum time it's been on, otherwise it would be a potential safety concern. And in places where the lights already change based on traffic (by detecting coming vehicles), there's already enough information to detect traffic volume to modify the logic from "low traffic, prioritize pedestrian beg button" to "high traffic, follow the light cycle". Because these are controlled by software, you can have arbitrarily complex rule tree to optimize for whatever goal you desire.
Show threadMillyFeb 25
@RustyFreewheel Depending on the amount of cars, I ignore the lights. If I feel I can walk and or cycle over the road safely without waiting on the lights, I do. But we don't have "jaywalking laws" around here so YMMV.
Show threadOmnivoreFeb 25

@RustyFreewheel

#alttext

Sign on a traffic pole:
Been waiting long?
That's because the council thinks someone in a car, half a kilometer away, is more important than you*.
They could make the lights change as soon as you press the button if they wanted, but they don't.
Complain to them 07 3403 4400.
A car moving at 50km/hr will travel almost half a kilometer in 30 seconds.

Show threadReinald KirchnerFeb 25
@RustyFreewheel that is my expectation. I press a button, and the light changes. If it does not, I think it is fair to assume it is broken, and cross the road whenever it feels save for you.
Show threadHoboFeb 25
@RustyFreewheel Good question indeed. So why not putting it in an ALT-Text? ^^
Show threadRustyFreewheelFeb 25
@hobo_ahoi
Show threadRustyFreewheelFeb 25
@hobo_ahoi
I have just learnt how to do this and made an edit.
Show threadMichaelFeb 26
@RustyFreewheel FWIW I've noticed wide variation between cities in how friendly traffic lights are to pedestrians. Melbourne is fantastic - the lights usually change within 30 seconds. Perth is probably close to the opposite extreme, where it's usually quicker to just cross when there's a gap in the traffic.