How are pedestrian crosswalks timed?
The WALK (man), the flashing DON’T WALK (flashing orange hand), and the steady DON’T WALK (steady orange hand) symbols make up the pedestrian timing. The WALK signal indicates that it’s alright to begin crossing the street. The flashing DON’T WALK signal indicates that you should not begin to cross the street, but should continue safely across the intersection. The steady DON’T WALK signal indicates that you should not begin to cross and that you should complete your crossing and get out of the intersection as quickly as possible. The WALK interval is usually very short, sometimes as brief as six seconds. The flashing DON’ WALK timing is normally based on the crossing distance of an intersection and a person’s average walking speed. Not all crosswalks have pedestrian push buttons, but for those that do, the side street will remain green for a longer amount of time if the button is pushed. Some of Mesa’s streets are very wide, so it may take a greater amount of time for a person to cros
