traffic lights

While we were in Barcelona, we noticed after about a day that we hardly ever had to wait at an intersection for the walk sign. We couldn't find any sensors but it kept happening all weekend. They must have some sort of sensors somewhere. On major streets we had to wait a little bit longer but not much longer.

Here in Dublin, some of the lights telling pedestrians when to walk have timers so you know exactly when the light will change. Some also have a sound that they make. This helps the visually impaired know when to go and then they aren't dependent on others. This past summer, there was some debate about the noise that goes with the green walk light. Some people considered it a noise nuisance and wanted to get rid of it. They appear to not have won. I quite like the noise because then I don't have to pay that close of attention to the lights and can tell by the sound when to walk. Caineal also knows the sound so she will wait until the light changes and when the sound starts, she starts to bolt across the street. See, so it helps stray dogs not get hit by cars, too.