New York, NY - City Tries Crosswalk Countdown Clocks for Pedestrians

New York, NY - City is testing timers that count down and display the seconds until the signal changes.

The $186,000 gadgets show the time left until opposing traffic gets a green light and the flashing "Don't Walk" warning becomes a steady "Don't Walk" order. Pedestrians who have just strolled up can decide whether they have enough time to start crossing, while those in the crosswalk can see how long they have to make it to the other side.
The five boroughs of New York City - Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx - each get one of the experimental signals for six months under the pilot program. After that period, more of the city's 100,000 crosswalks could get the timers.