If anything I think placebo buttons are there to erode pedestrians’ sense of agency.
At an intersection in the UK (or in Glasgow at least) some buttons are placebo and some aren’t, on the same intersection.
If the light cycle would stop traffic on a lane anyway, then the button for that bit of lane is placebo. The button fails to trigger the green-man for the entire intersection.
This includes lanes that lead to traffic islands leaving pedestrians stranded. A pedestrian can easily end up missing their place in the traffic light cycle after having pressed a button that you would think would let them get to where they are going.
Personally this injustice enrages me every day!
I never miss the oportiunity to press a button help any potential pedestrian get to where they are going, a place just as important as any driver’s.
Loathsome hostile design.
