Just a quick note in regards to tightening down straps on a fixed gear, I did it for the better part of a year before I went clipless, which, I will say up front, I find superior to clips and straps in almost every conceivable way. It was just a matter of getting a feel for it. Just to give you an idea of how I had them set up:



So, what I would do is keep my left foot tight all the time, and only adjust the right. It was really easy. When I wanted to loosen them, all I had to do was "slap" the buckles away. After a while, I got pretty good at getting them loose enough to get my foot out but not so loose that they were unrideable for a few blocks, without thinking. To tighten, I would just reach down at the top of my rotation and pull up as hard as I could. The buttons helped a lot, since all I had to do was pinch down and they would stop my hands automatically. Again, with practice, I was eventually able to get the tightness right almost every time on the first pull.

I don't see this as a solution to your problem, but I just wanted to share my experience with clips and straps, since it seems I am a bit of an anomaly for using them in this way.