Green Men Flashing: A Poem

I was crossing this junction the other day
Crossing, of course, the prescribed safe way
When I noticed I had some company
In the form of an elderly granny
Who didn't walk as much as lumbered
On account of the fact that she was quite encumbered

She had all manner of electronic gadgets strapped to her back
Probably an IPod the only thing she seemed to lack
With LCD screens, keypads and little radars
Black cables, Bluetooth logos, even an antenna
To me she had long since crossed from being a techno-geek
Into the wild uncharted territory of a techno-freak

And I thought, 'How strange is that?
Would she have the time for a little chat?'
So I sidled up to her and spoke most calmly,
'Dear granny don't you find your getup an anomaly?
Are you really a granny concealing a big surprise,
Or a wealthy teen in elderly disguise?'

She smiled at me, with a twinkle in her eyes
'No, no, there's hardly any surprise'
And she smoothly produced a card from a hidden compartment
Which officially said she was from the Traffic Department
An important arm of the LTA
But nothing else did the little card say

Now a little light had been shed yet the mystery remained
And by that card my curiousity sparked rather than waned
Could it be that there was a purpose to her actions
Important enough to merit the LTA's sanction?
If so whatever could her mission be
To walk across a junction equipped like a Christmas tree?

Oh, the look of befuddlement that I wore
Prodded her on to explain some more
'If you needed a way to estimate how long it'll take
(And your estimate could be anything but vague)
For the average man to make it across a road comfortably
Wouldn't using little old ladies in trials occur immdiately?

'For while most people would run or even dash
Little old ladies are anything but rash
We'll take our time and only cross when we can
And since we take longer than the average man
The time I take affects when the Green Man starts flashing
Thus saving the engineers at HQ a lot of guessing'

I then pointed to the equipment she took pains to carry
Asking if if all that was really necessary
She shrugged and said it was a waste of money
A simple stopwatch was better than all the baloney
But ever since her bosses said it was image-maintaining
She had borne her load and stopped complaining

And with that she continued on her way
But not, of course, without some delay
For my questions and her loquacious attitude
Resulted in a delay of a certain magnitude
And to this day at that junction
The Flashing Man takes longer than his brothers to function

Quick, someone! Give me something better to do with my time!