City deactivates pedestrian push signals in some LA neighborhoods, adds new touch-free feature

LOS ANGELES - In order to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has deactivated several pedestrian push buttons. 

The goal is to avoid people constantly touching the buttons. According to LADOT the deactivated buttons are in city neighborhoods with high volumes of pedestrian activity. 

“Affected intersections now feature automatic walk cycles, which operate without the need for pedestrians to press crosswalk buttons and risk contamination,” according to a statement on the city’s website. 

The new automatic walk cycles were initially rolled out in downtown LA and followed by Hollywood, Westlake, and MacArthur Park.

LADOT says they are also making the conversion to automatic, non-button pedestrian signals at intersections in Chinatown and Koreatown.

According to LADOT they are working to convert additional pedestrian signals in the following areas:

•    East Hollywood/Little Armenia
•    Highland Park
•    Miracle Mile
•    Pico-Union/University Park
•    South LA
•    Studio City
•    Van Nuys