Hm. This is a good question...

[conuly]

About chirping intersections - do they only chirp sometimes? AND WHY DO WE NOT HAVE THEM IN NEW YORK? And on and on.

Comments

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

Those are fantastic.

They're intended, as you may have guessed, for visually impaired people. (Which I say, because I have a friend who's colourblind who relies heavily on those chirps.)

They're supposed to chirp everytime - the ones in my area did - and there's a slightly different chirp for each direction; when one pair of lights is green, it's one chirp, and when the other pair is green, it's a different chirp.

I got so used to hearing them, that I started paying more attention to that than the colour of the lights, and now that I've moved back to an area that doesn't have them, I miss my "birdie-lights". ;;

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about why you don't have them, or what they're like elsewhere, but they *always* chirp here.

What's very strange to me is that the chirps aren't always the same from one area to the next. I'm used to the way that they sound here, but was confused briefly when I visited Washington DC.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Going off on a tangent...

In a previous discussion of pelican crossings, somebody complained about the buttons for them being at an inconvenient height for people in wheelchairs. And that threw me, because I couldn't think that they were, but I don't know if I said anything at the time. But this seems as good a time as any to ask...

What height *are* pelican crossing buttons at if it's inconvenient? Because here they're usually about hip height or slightly above. I can't imagine a better compromise - people in wheelchairs/children need to reach up a bit, adults walking have to reach down a bit.

*Is curious*

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

The buttons to cross don't even work -- I can't imagine them doing something as wacky and futuristic and innovative as CHIRPING.

(http://slashdot.org/articles/04/02/28/1722239.shtml is info on the non working cross walk thingers.)

[stejcruetekie.livejournal.com]

Actually there are a few places with them, mainly renovated places. Columbus Circle with the new AOL/Time Whorer building has them at at least one of the intersections.

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

Here, the button you press to cross also doubles as a visually impaired guide thingy. Not only do they make a noise, the box the button is mounted on 'thumps' so you can be sure of which way you can cross. The corresponding box on the other side of the intersection does the same thing.

I think the setup is really cool.

[beetlebomb.livejournal.com]

They have them in Toronto too. I don't know about where you are, but when the lights in one direction are green they go tweet-tweet-tweet and when it changes it makes a sound similar to a cuckoo clock. It always makes me think of the Laurel & Hardy theme song!

[push-the-limits.livejournal.com]

We don't have them here. When I heard them in WA, I couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from and why. It took me a minute.

[wodhaund.livejournal.com]

Those are fantastic.

They're intended, as you may have guessed, for visually impaired people. (Which I say, because I have a friend who's colourblind who relies heavily on those chirps.)

They're supposed to chirp everytime - the ones in my area did - and there's a slightly different chirp for each direction; when one pair of lights is green, it's one chirp, and when the other pair is green, it's a different chirp.

I got so used to hearing them, that I started paying more attention to that than the colour of the lights, and now that I've moved back to an area that doesn't have them, I miss my "birdie-lights". ;;

[moggymania.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure about why you don't have them, or what they're like elsewhere, but they *always* chirp here.

What's very strange to me is that the chirps aren't always the same from one area to the next. I'm used to the way that they sound here, but was confused briefly when I visited Washington DC.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Going off on a tangent...

In a previous discussion of pelican crossings, somebody complained about the buttons for them being at an inconvenient height for people in wheelchairs. And that threw me, because I couldn't think that they were, but I don't know if I said anything at the time. But this seems as good a time as any to ask...

What height *are* pelican crossing buttons at if it's inconvenient? Because here they're usually about hip height or slightly above. I can't imagine a better compromise - people in wheelchairs/children need to reach up a bit, adults walking have to reach down a bit.

*Is curious*

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

The buttons to cross don't even work -- I can't imagine them doing something as wacky and futuristic and innovative as CHIRPING.

(http://slashdot.org/articles/04/02/28/1722239.shtml is info on the non working cross walk thingers.)

[stejcruetekie.livejournal.com]

Actually there are a few places with them, mainly renovated places. Columbus Circle with the new AOL/Time Whorer building has them at at least one of the intersections.

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

Here, the button you press to cross also doubles as a visually impaired guide thingy. Not only do they make a noise, the box the button is mounted on 'thumps' so you can be sure of which way you can cross. The corresponding box on the other side of the intersection does the same thing.

I think the setup is really cool.

[beetlebomb.livejournal.com]

They have them in Toronto too. I don't know about where you are, but when the lights in one direction are green they go tweet-tweet-tweet and when it changes it makes a sound similar to a cuckoo clock. It always makes me think of the Laurel & Hardy theme song!

[push-the-limits.livejournal.com]

We don't have them here. When I heard them in WA, I couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from and why. It took me a minute.