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ObservationAssignment

For my observation assignment, I wanted to focus on something "low-tech." I started out with the concept of observing the use of the "push to walk" button located on street signals. These are buttons you press when you walk up to a corner and you want the walk signal to change from don't walk to walk. However, New York City does not seem to have any of these (at least I could not find any near NYU).

After spending some time on the street corner, I decided to observe the "walk/don't walk" signs instead. Although there is no physical interaction, I became curious about how people choose to use them or not to use them. Do these devices serve a purpose or are they entirely ignored?

After spending some time watching people watch the signs, it seems that most people use them mostly as a suggestion, if they use them at all.

I found a few basic scenarios:

1. Certain people totally ignore the signs. They walk right into the street and immediately look for incoming traffic.
2. Others will glance at the sign as a guide and then proceed to look into the street.
3. A small group will rely completely on the sign for instruction.

There are also some people that change their behavior once they are already in the interscetion. I observed a few people that reacted differently when the sign changes once they were already in the intersection. For example, one guy was walking slowly and started to jog once the signal started blinking "don't walk."

Other questions came to mind the more I observed people:

• How effective/ineffective is this device in other parts of the city? country?
• New signs have a time element where there is countdown until you can't walk -- how does this counter change people's behavior?
• What else could you do to improve these signs?
• Might it be safer if we did not have them at all?

UPDATE (11/05/06): Just read this article.