Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Crosswalk crisis

It’s one of Boston’s favorite sports with a very high degree of difficulty. It’s called urban street crossing and the stakes are high.

Paula Burgess
"You take your life in your own hands."

Pedestrian Paula knows the rules are clear. Push the button for the go signal and the red hand means don’t walk.

Paula Burgess
"You don't want to jaywalk, so I always press the buttons."

But watch, with the guy at the corner, what happened at this Allston intersection, one Paula crosses every day.

Push the button.

Don’t walk.

Don’t walk.

Don’t walk.

The red hand was always there.

Paula Burgess
"I just didn't know what to do, because it's a very busy intersection, and people would be swearing at me and honking."

Paula would watch the lights for cars change from red to green and back again, but for pedestrians nothing.

Paula Burgess
"I pushed the button, and then I'd wait, and then I'd push the button again."

Paula called city officials to complain about the stopped go button, but it was no go on a fix.

Paula Burgess
"That's when I contacted you."

Here's who’s supposed to make sure the go-no go signals are going as planned.

Tom Tinlin, Boston Transportation Department
"This is the traffic management center."

Every crossing, all 3000 pedestrian buttons, are monitored in Boston's Transportation Department. We found their high-tech command post inside Boston City Hall.

Tom Tinlin, Boston Transportation Department
"It's our job to make sure those are up and running the way they were designed to, to get people across the street safely."

We got here, but turns out Paula's complaints never made it to the right place. When we told them about the Allston intersection, they immediately gave the green light to a repair crew.

Tom Tinlin, Boston Transportation Department
"It's unfortunate that we didn't get that call sooner, but had we, that signal would have been up and running in a maximum of two hours."

And now, check it out, the button's back in business and Paula always gets a green light.

Paula Burgess
"I'm very happy, and I'm glad I could do something not just for me, but for everybody else who has to cross this intersection."

Traffic signals are most often handled locally, but not always. Still, for a broken signal, town hall is your first call.

If you live in Boston and spot a broken traffic signal, you can call the mayor's 24 hour service line to report it: 617-635-4500.

(Copyright (c) 2006 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)