Pushing buttons gets pedestrians nowhere in downtown Dallas

[B' Spokes: Can you imagine as a pedestrian being accommodated automatically at intersections just like a car? (I will note this is similar to my request on the Reisterstown streetscape,) Phase out pedestrian "beg buttons" makes a lot of sense as this article points out.]
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By DANIELLE GROBMEIER, Dallas News

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Many other cities, including New York and Boston, have gone to pre-timed lights or similar systems that they say ensure a safer and more consistent traffic flow at crosswalks. Doing so means the push buttons become purely decorative or, as described by a New Yorker, “mechanical placebos.”
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He said busy intersections would have push buttons deteriorate faster. And if they’re mechanical buttons, that could happen in a little over a year.

Majumdar said the city might get complaints about the nonworking buttons [they are not fixed unless someone complains] But he said the pre-timed signals are safer for pedestrians.
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<a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20140730-pushing-buttons-gets-pedestrians-nowhere-in-downtown-dallas.ece">http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20140730-pushing-buttons-gets-pedestrians-nowhere-in-downtown-dallas.ece</a>;