Using present simple or present continuous

Question

I'm catching myself to think about present simple or present continues when I'm constructing sentences like this one (it happened again) and I'm getting more and more confused. What do you folks think is the correct way to write this sentence:

Being able to help people to feel safe when they are crossing the streets makes me happy.

or

Being able to help people to feel safe when they cross the streets makes me happy.

In my opinion, they are both correct, although I lean towards the second sentence in terms of correctness.

Many thanks, Peter

Answer 1

They both have different meanings:

1. ... when they are crossing the streets ...
   This means that the action is performed temporarily, it's not a permanent situation or routine.
2. ... when they cross the streets ...
   This means that the action is permanent, a routine the people do every time. (We don't know its frequency, but we do know it's done permanently anyhow.)