Yesterday, the city unveiled crosswalk signals that count down the
seconds before the light changes.

In addition to the traditional dual display — a person walking and a
raised hand — the new signals contain timers that display the number of
seconds before the raised hand stops flashing and stays steady.

The signals will be
used at five intersections — one in each borough — in a six-month pilot
project. If the project is shown to improve safety, many of the more
than 100,000 pedestrian signals citywide could eventually be replaced
with the countdown signals.

Cities including Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Las
Vegas and Washington use them, as well as smaller cities and towns. But
in New York City, crossing the street is no simple matter.

They’ve got them in San Francisco, too and they work beautifully there.

Standing
yesterday on a sidewalk at Kings Highway and Coney Island Avenue in
Brooklyn, where one of the first five signals had been installed, Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg
said, “It would take a world-class psychologist to understand and
describe the way New Yorkers cross busy intersections such as this one.”

At the Brooklyn intersection, pedestrians have 18
seconds. The length of time to cross — which is based on street width
and traffic activity — is not changing at those intersections.

The Mayor said: “We hope the countdown will
cause people who haven’t stepped off the curb to think twice before
doing so, and also reassure those who are already in the crosswalk that
they don’t need to panic, but should consider picking up the pace."

Yeah, right.

The four other intersections
with the new signals are Southern Boulevard and East 149th Street in
the Bronx; Avenue of the Americas and West Eighth Street in Manhattan;
Hillside Avenue and 179th Place in Queens; and Hylan Boulevard and New
Dorp Lane in Staten Island.