Pedestrians have always had it rough in New Jersey.  Where I grew up in northern NJ, pedestrian signals were more the exception than the norm.  Many intersections had no pedestrian signal heads, but came equipped with crosswalk buttons instructing you to push the button and WAIT FOR GREEN LIGHT.  I assume that pushing the button sent a notification to the controller that a person was waiting to cross, thus hastening the change of the light to green.  Good luck with expecting New Jersey drivers to yield to you as you cross!

Massachusetts, on the other hand, implemented a more sophisticated solution for pedestrians – a red-amber phase of the vehicular signals to allow time for pedestrians to cross. The problem with that approach was the fact that most drivers from out of state didn’t know the meaning of the red-amber indication.

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Above: The city of Bloomfield installed a number of signalized crosswalks on Broad Street and Belleville Avenue in the 1940s. These rather charming Crouse-Hinds installations employed 8″ vehicular heads with Kopp WAIT and WALK lenses. This crosswalk is at the former A&P on the corner of Broad and Warren. I can recall the WAIT-WALK signals were still operating as late as the 1980s, but eventually were replaced by square ped heads. The original overhead vehicular lights held on until 10-15 years ago. Today, the original masts still remain. Note the USE CROSSWALK AT LIGHT sign in the first photo.

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Two circa 1970s views from The Green in Morristown, with what appear to be Crouse-Hinds neon pedestrian signals (a rare find in the Garden State).  It was probably around this time that Jean Shepherd did a bit about Morristown on his WOR-AM radio show that I have on CD.

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