In reply to Steve Gjerdingen.

Yes, let's take cars a step down so that they're on the same level as pedestrians. Never mind that at most intersections many more cars than pedestrians need to cross.

The timing issue is legitimate: there should be a way for the stoplight controller to allow a pedestrian to cross if they come up at the beginning of a green light.

As for bicyclists, that idea would be okay for intersections with lots of bicyclists, but I wouldn't want to see how much the cost would be to install those sensors on all traffic lights, especially those that get little to no bicycle traffic.