Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

If you walk in American cities, you know the streets weren't engineered for you. The obvious signs are the broken, obstructed, or just plain non-existent sidewalks. But there's also a less visible bias against walking programmed into our traffic signals.

At the Transportist, civil engineering professor David Levinson outlines how signal timing conventions favor driving over walking. Beg buttons assume that cars always matter but pedestrians don't. "Green waves" speed motor vehicles without considering the movement of people on foot. The lack of time for pedestrians to cross streets may be harder to spot than the lack of good sidewalks, but it's just as pervasive.

Cities that want to be walkable and safe for pedestrians should adopt a totally different approach, Levinson writes. Here's what he recommends:

  • Pedestrian time must be considered (and prioritised) in the traffic signal timing algorithms so that their weight is equal to or higher than the weight of a passenger car.
  • Pedestrians should get the maximum feasible amount of green time on a phase, rather than the minimum, so that pedestrians arriving on the phase have a chance to take advantage of it, and slower moving pedestrians are not intimidated by cars.
  • Pedestrians should get a ‘leading interval’ so they can step into the street on a ‘walk’ signal before cars start to move on a green light, increasing their visibility to drivers.
  • Pedestrian phases should be automatic, even if no actuator is pushed. Instead, the actuator should make the pedestrian phase come sooner.
  • Many more intersections should have an all-pedestrian phase (what is referred to as a ‘Barnes Dance’) in addition to existing phases so pedestrians can make diagonal intersection crossings without having to wait twice.

Some American cities are putting these strategies into practice. New York, for example, has accelerated implementation of leading pedestrian intervals, which is credited with reducing pedestrian fatalities there. Nationwide, however, the U.S. is moving in the wrong direction, with pedestrian deaths soaring. Traffic signals that prioritize pedestrians should be standard in every city, but they remain the exception, not the rule.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Drink From the Firehose

A key DOT nominee's role in Project 2025, more dubious executive orders, climate change accelerates and more headlines.

February 7, 2025

Friday Video: It’s Been a Week! Take A Breath And Watch People Bike In Utrecht

Take a break, regulate yourself, and get back to fighting for a better future for transportation in America.

February 7, 2025

Commentary: It’s Time for Newsom to Bring it Home on High Speed Rail

Oil-funded, Trumpian Republicans long-ago decided to turn California's HSR project into a political football. If they want to play games, then it's long past time for California Democrats to stop jerking around and play to win.

February 6, 2025

Talking Headway Podcast: 20 is Plenty in Wales

Welsh MP Lee Waters and the University of Sydney's Dr. Jennifer Kent on how Wales passed a national 20 mph speed limit.

February 6, 2025

Who is Trump’s FTA Pick Marc Molinaro — And Will He Kill Congestion Pricing?

If confirmed, Trump FTA pick Marc Molinaro can do a lot to gum up funding for mass transit across the country. Here's a look at his record.

February 6, 2025
See all posts