Maybe there is some cardio benefit

Have you ever wondered if those "push this button to cross street" buttons at busy intersections were really wired into anything? You can cease wondering, at least if you live in New York:

The city deactivated most of the pedestrian buttons long ago with the emergence of computer-controlled traffic signals, even as an unwitting public continued to push on, according to city Department of Transportation officials. More than 2,500 of the 3,250 walk buttons that still exist function essentially as mechanical placebos, city figures show. Any benefit from them is only imagined.