New automatic pedestrian non-button traffic signals have been installed along Wilshire Blvd in the Greater Wilshire area. Thanks to reduced car traffic and more pedestrians crossing the streets during the COVID-19 pandemic, Department of Transportation crews have been able to work quickly and safely to make improvements to our streets reflecting new traffic patterns.
LADOT has deactivated pedestrian push buttons in city neighborhoods with high volumes of pedestrian activity. Instead, the intersections now feature automatic walk cycles, which operate without the need for pedestrians to press crosswalk buttons and risk contamination.
Initially rolled out in downtown Los Angeles and then implemented in Hollywood, Westlake, and MacArthur Park, LADOT has now also made the conversion to automatic, non-button pedestrian signals at intersections in Chinatown and Koreatown.
In addition, LADOT has reset all signals to “nighttime mode,” so that more signals to change to red when traffic volumes are really low. Officials had noticed an increase in speeding through intersections where lights had been synchronized to reduce traffic congestion during daylight hours, and allow a “green wave” of signals, according to KTLA News.