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Accessible pedestrian signals: how they tell you it is time to cross
An accessible pedestrian signal gives the walk indication by sound and by vibration as well as by light, so a pedestrian who is blind or has low vision knows when the walk interval starts. It usually comes with a push button that ticks so you can find it, and a raised arrow that points across the street.
This guide summarizes the sources it cites; it is not legal advice. The official texts are the reference.
What PROWAG requires
The U.S. Access Board’s Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines say that where pedestrian signal heads are provided at a crosswalk, the walk indication must be accessible, through a pedestrian push button, or through passive detection or pretimed operation that sets off audible and vibrotactile indications. The accessible features have to be available at all times (PROWAG, R206.1 and R206.2).
The Access Board published PROWAG as a final rule on August 8, 2023. Guidelines become enforceable when agencies adopt them as standards; the Department of Transportation did so on December 18, 2024 for new construction and alterations of transit stops in the public right-of-way (PROWAG).
The sidewalk the crossing starts from, with its width, slopes and passing spaces, is in ADA sidewalk requirements.
The push button: locator tone and tactile arrow
| Feature | Requirement | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Location | no more than 5 feet from the side of the curb ramp or from the edge of the crosswalk line farthest from the center of the intersection, and 1.5 to 10 feet from the edge of the curb | PROWAG, R307.4 |
| Two buttons on one corner | at least 10 feet apart | PROWAG, R307.4.1 |
| Orientation | face of the button parallel to its crosswalk | PROWAG, R307.5 |
| Tactile arrow | high visual contrast, aligned with the direction of travel on the crosswalk | PROWAG, R307.9 |
| Locator tone | lasts 0.15 seconds or less and repeats once a second; audible 6 to 12 feet away, or to the building line; up to 5 dBA louder than the ambient sound, and 100 dBA at most | PROWAG, R307.8.1 and R307.8.2 |
| Extended press | a press of one second or more can call extra features; where it gives more crossing time, a sign at the button says so | PROWAG, R307.3 |
The walk indication: tick, speech and vibration
- Only during the walk interval. The signal gives an audible and a vibrotactile walk indication during the walk interval only, and the audible one can be heard from the start of the crosswalk. Then, during the pedestrian change interval, it goes back to the locator tone (PROWAG, R308.2).
- The tick. At a single crossing, or where two signals on a corner are at least 10 feet apart, the walk indication is a percussive tone repeating eight to ten ticks per second, with a dominant component at 880 Hz (PROWAG, R308.3.1).
- Speech. In alterations where the buttons cannot be 10 feet apart, each signal speaks instead, on the model “Broadway. Walk sign is on to cross Broadway.” Information messages, given only while the walk interval is not timing, begin with “Wait”, as in “Wait to cross Broadway at Grand.” (PROWAG, R308.3.2).
- Vibration. The push button vibrates during the walk interval (PROWAG, R308.5).
- Volume. Up to 5 dBA louder than the ambient sound, with automatic adjustment up to 100 dBA (PROWAG, R308.4).
Rotating cones, and other countries
In the UK, the Department for Transport says tactile and audible signals at controlled crossings convey the same information as the green walking symbol. The tactile signal is a rotating cone below the push button box, essential for deafblind people and helpful to other blind and partially sighted pedestrians, and it should be provided at controlled crossings as a default. Push buttons and pedestrian control units sit 500 mm from the line of crossing studs, so they can be reached from the tactile paving (Inclusive Mobility).
In Spain, push-button crossings have an acoustic signal, and the button vibrates, sits 0.80 to 1.20 m high and has a raised arrow at least 4 cm long (Orden TMA/851/2021, article 23). The Spanish guide to the accessible city covers it in detail.
Using one
- Follow the locator tone to the push button: it ticks about once a second.
- Feel the arrow on the button: it points along the crosswalk the button controls.
- Press it. Where there are extra features, holding it for a second or more calls them.
- Wait for the fast ticking, or the spoken walk message, and the vibration under your hand.
- As with any signal, check the traffic before you step off the curb.
Frequently asked questions
What is an accessible pedestrian signal?
A pedestrian signal that also gives the walk indication by sound and vibration, usually through a push button with a locator tone and a tactile arrow (PROWAG, R206.2 and R307).
Why does the crosswalk button beep?
That is the locator tone: a short sound repeated once a second so a blind pedestrian can find the button. It can be heard 6 to 12 feet away (PROWAG, R307.8).
What does the fast ticking at a crosswalk mean?
That the walk interval has started. The walk tone repeats eight to ten ticks per second (PROWAG, R308.3.1).
What is the arrow on the push button for?
It points in the direction of travel on the crosswalk the button controls, and has high visual contrast (PROWAG, R307.9).
What is the rotating cone at UK crossings?
A tactile signal below the push button box that lets a person know when the green walking symbol is lit; it is essential for deafblind people (Inclusive Mobility).
More accessibility guides
- Truncated domes and tactile paving: what the bumps on curb ramps and platform edges mean, and their sizes in the US and the UK.
- ADA sidewalk requirements: clear width, passing spaces, grade, cross slope, surface, protruding objects and street furniture, on public sidewalks and on site.
- The white cane: what it tells the person using it and the people around them, and White Cane Safety Day.
- Guide dogs: how they work, where they can go under the ADA, and how to act around one.
- Universal design: the seven principles, with an example from a building for each.
- ADA paratransit: who qualifies, the 3/4 mile service area, fares up to twice the bus fare, next-day booking, companions and how to apply.
- All accessibility guides
Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these official texts, which we read in October 2026.
- Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG). U.S. Access Board, final rule published August 8, 2023.
- Inclusive Mobility: A Guide to Best Practice on Access to Pedestrian and Transport Infrastructure. Department for Transport (UK), December 2021, published January 10, 2022.
- Orden TMA/851/2021, documento técnico de accesibilidad de los espacios públicos urbanizados. BOE núm. 187, 6 de agosto de 2021 (España), consolidated text, last updated September 3, 2026.
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