How are pedestrian timings determined, and why doesn the “Walk” indication always come on?
The Ministry of Transportation – Ontario (MTO) has established criteria, which bases pedestrian crossing times on the actual crossing distance. The “Walk” time will allow people to cover half of the crossing distance, as this symbol means it is safe to start crossing the street. The flashing “Don’t Walk” provides enough time for pedestrians who have started to cross the street to complete their crossing before opposing traffic is released. The “Don’t Walk” time is the longer component of the pedestrian time as it provides the appropriate clearance time to pedestrians who have started a crossing. It takes longer for a pedestrian to cross a street than it does for a vehicle. At most intersections, the green signal for side-street movements is activated by means of a vehicle detector loop, which provides only enough time for a vehicle to clear the intersection. When additional vehicles pass over the detector, additional green time is added to permit them to clear the intersection. Pedestr
