Boston Crosswalk Buttons Don’t Do Anything! Except When They Do

Radio Boston deciphers the pedestrian crosswalk buttons in Boston and Cambridge, with mixed results. This was very frustrating to me last weekend when my parents were in town, as the behavior I was used to from North Cambridge did not apply in East Cambridge and in downtown Boston, and there didn’t seem to be any consistent pattern to the Boston signals, not to mention the Boston drivers who had little respect for pedestrians, and pedestrians who did not mind jumping in the way of moving cars. No doubt these various problems feed on each other in annoying and dangerous ways. For an example of the worst of all worlds, just try driving (or walking!) through Central Square.