All Walk/Don’t Walk timing of the countdown pedestrian signals is based on federal regulations and recommendations. The actual Walk indication can be as short as 4 seconds (very rare) but the Flashing Don’t Walk timing is based on the amount of time it takes someone walking at 3.5 feet per
second to traverse from one ramp to the opposite ramp. In the downtown core and a few other locations, we provide pedestrians with a two second head-start before the corresponding, vehicular indication turns green. This is meant to provide better visibility and less exposure time for the pedestrian crossing the street.
