Why do I call this the beg button?
Simple, it forces you to beg to cross instead of being given time to cross by default, it gives drivers permission to driver faster and traffic engineers permission to not program signals to accommodate pedestrians. The Beg Button is not pedestrian infrastructure, it is car infrastructure.
Cars do not hold more people than a sidewalk, you can fit hundreds on a sidewalk, you can fit 7 in a car at most. We do not want cars to go fast because it is unsafe for both drivers and pedestrians. We need human scale design of our cities, if we prioritize cars our cities will be unlivable and have more pollution