in Shibya-- a shopping center distict in downtown tokyo-- they do the same thing on a grand scale.. about 20 seconds before the signal change, they sound a horn-- and then again at 10 seconds.. and final a long toot starts -- and all the traffic stops-- where ever it is.. (drivers are supposed to try and clear the intersections, but if they don't they just stop!)-- and then starts the mad pedestrian dash-- every which way-- Shibya is a busy intersections, with several main streets crossing at odd angles, and it has a "memorial" on a island in the middle..
after a while, the is a warning horn- and 10 seconds later, an other, and finally, the last blast of the horn, and every body scrambles on to the sidewalk and the mad dash of cars starts again..
I thought it would work in some places in NY-- Times square comes to mind, and Herald square-- but NY has so many tourist-- it would be hard to "teach the rules"-- and i don't think NYers would give up jay walking anyway.
