---
title: "Pedestrian Signal"
url: "https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/pedestrian-signal/"
id: "ELM-PDS-15"
description: "A signal indication, typically a walking figure and countdown display, informing pedestrians when it is their turn to cross and how much time remains to do so at a signalized intersection or crossing."
updated: "2026-09-26"
---

# Pedestrian Signal

`ELM-PDS-15`

Recommended Element

Pedestrian Signal

A signal indication, typically a walking figure and countdown display, informing pedestrians when it is their turn to cross and how much time remains to do so at a signalized intersection or crossing.

## Related Media

The items below come from outside the Commonway System, external videos, podcasts, and articles related to this page's topic, not part of the guidebook itself.

Aligned

### [Why the Dutch Wait Less at Traffic Lights](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knbVWXzL4-4)

Not Just Bikes

Breaks down Dutch traffic-responsive signal timing, independent phasing, transit signal priority, and no-right-turn-on-red as a pedestrian/cyclist safety measure.

Aligned

### [Crossing the Street Shouldn't Be Deadly (but it is)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ByEBjf9ktY)

Not Just Bikes

This video walks through pedestrian crossing designs, from beg buttons and signal phases to raised crossings, HAWK beacons, and continuous sidewalks. It shows how crossing geometry and timing decide whether walking is safe, the same question behind the Commonway System's crosswalk and crossing elements.

Aligned

### [America's deadliest road, explained](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-nthHT-J1k)

Vox

Vox examines a one-kilometer stretch of US-19 in Florida, the deadliest of 60 pedestrian-fatality hotspots in a national study, and shows how eight lanes, 45 mph speeds and crossings nearly a kilometer apart make deaths predictable rather than accidental. It is a vivid case study of the Stroad problem and of the crosswalk, signal, driveway and lane-removal fixes the Commonway System specifies.

Aligned

### [Can this "HAWK" STOP LIGHT make walking feel SAFE again?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHX8ezW2XGs)

Road Guy Rob

Rob explains why painted mid-block crosswalks and flashing yellow lights are so often ignored, then shows how the Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (HAWK), which stays dark until a pedestrian calls it and then commands a full stop, reaches 97 to 99 percent driver compliance, with Tucson's warrant and equity criteria. It supports the Commonway System's Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon pattern directly, and shows why the Crosswalk, RRFB and Pedestrian Signal patterns rate different devices differently.

## Why this pattern exists

A vehicle-only signal phase gives pedestrians no explicit information about when or how long they have to cross; a pedestrian signal makes crossing timing an intentional, communicated part of the intersection’s operation. This pattern exists to document its own timing and placement considerations distinct from the vehicle signal it operates alongside.[1]

## Key considerations

-   Crossing time allotted must accommodate a range of pedestrian walking speeds, not just an average adult pace[2]
-   Should be provided at every signalized crossing where pedestrian activity is legal, not treated as optional
-   Countdown displays improve pedestrian decision-making at the crossing’s edge and should be the default over a simple walk/don’t-walk indication

## Related patterns

[Traffic Signal](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/traffic-signal.md) (ELM-TFS-14) (the companion vehicle control this pattern coordinates with); [Curb Ramp](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/curb-ramp.md) (ELM-CRP-03), [Detectable Warning Surface](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/detectable-warning-surface.md) (ELM-DWS-10) (companion accessibility elements)

## References

1.  Legal / regulatory [MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1 (FHWA, December 2025; effective March 5, 2026), Chapter 4I, "Pedestrian Control Features" (renumbered from the 2009 edition's Chapter 4E), including Section 4D.02's leading pedestrian interval requirement.](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/11th_Editionr1/mutcd11theditionr1hl.pdf)
2.  Legal / regulatory [PROWAG (U.S. Access Board, 2023 final rule; adopted into DOT's ADA regulations effective January 17, 2025), Section R309, accessible pedestrian signal requirements.](https://www.access-board.gov/prowag/technical.html)