Why do some crosswalks have a speaker on them that makes a clicking noise? -- Bill
I don't know which crosswalks you're talking about, but the noise is probably to help blind or visually impaired pedestrians cross the street.
That clicking sound guides a person to a button at the crosswalk that triggers the "walk-don't walk" sign. The person presses that button and the system creates a continuous tone when the "walk" sign appears, telling the person that it's safe to cross the street.
When the "walk" light begins to flash, the tone becomes intermittent, indicating that the crossing time is almost over, according to a story in the Rocky Mountain News.
Clicking isn't the only audio cue used for pedestrian crossings. Some crosswalks on Denver's Auraria campus emit birdlike chirps when the signals have halted traffic and crossing is safe.
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Comments
Good answer, thank you very much.
Thanks for reading -- and writing.
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