City crews have bagged the diagonal crosswalk signals at 45 intersections. The signals will be removed over the next few weeks.

The diagonal crossings started in the 1940s. Traffic engineer Henry Barnes created the idea of stopping all traffic at intersections and allowing pedestrians to cross in any direction.

Some nicknamed the idea the Barnes Dance after Barnes and because it looked like people were dancing in the streets, according to Denver Public Works spokeswoman Christine Downs.

In 2009, Denver Public Works traffic engineering services studied how pedestrians cross intersections in downtown and found that less than 10 percent of people use the diagonal crossing where it is provided.

In May, traffic signals will also be adjusted to cycle every 90 seconds, instead of every 75 seconds to allow longer light rail trains to travel through certain intersections.