In a 1952 Traffic Quarterly paper, the mayor of Portland, Oregon, brags about quelling fears in a similar situation.14 Portland had a “high-speed arterial state highway” located adjacent to its school for blind children. The blind kids nicknamed this arterial “Death Valley.” Portland’s solution? They made the pedestrian beg button bigger. Does the bigger button bring about the walk signal any sooner? Nope, but it did add an audible buzzer to accompany the walk signal.
