But if you try to make an eye-catching crosswalk design in the United States, the transportation engineering establishment won’t approve. That’s what happened to a group of neighbors in St. Louis who painted their local crosswalks and were told by the city the new markings were a safety hazard.
There’s no good research to support that position, so why do authorities frown at any deviation from standard crosswalk design? The Federal Highway Administration’s guidance outlines the agency’s thinking:
In 2011, the FHWA issued an additional Official Ruling4 that crosswalk art — defined as any freeform design to draw attention to the crosswalk — would degrade the contrast of the white transverse lines against the composition of the pavement beneath it. In deviating from previous Official Rulings on the matter that concluded an increased factor of safety and decreased number of pedestrian deaths were not evident after installation, this 2011 Official Ruling stated that the use of crosswalk art is actually contrary to the goal of increased safety and most likely could be a contributing factor to a false sense of security for both motorists and pedestrians.
Despite the FHWA’s apparent certainty, there is no rigorous empirical evidence that crosswalk art reduces safety for pedestrians.
It would be one thing if the U.S. had an exemplary pedestrian safety record to uphold. Then strict conformity with the “rules” would make good sense. But American streets are dangerous places to walk, and pedestrian fatalities are skyrocketing — rising nearly 50 percent since 2009.
Meanwhile, FHWA is still using discredited studies from 40 years ago to discourage the installation of crosswalks. It’s clear that the flow of car traffic is still prioritized over public safety at the top levels of the American engineering establishment. Instead of overhauling guidelines to reduce the death toll, we get stale guidance that discourages grassroots interventions to make streets safer.
The bottom line: Federal traffic safety officials take conformity with an unsafe system much more seriously than actual safety outcomes.
More recommended reading today: Transportation for America reports that a program that addresses neighborhood public health disparities is under threat in the Trump administration’s heartless budget proposal. And the State Smart Transportation Initiative shares a new tool that can help communities measure walkability
The use of illusion in art is nothing new, but a small town in Iceland is using the effect to help with public safety and traffic issues. In the small fishing village of Ísafjörður, a 3D pedestrian crossing was painted last month in an effort to slow traffic on a narrow street. The eye-popping illusion gives the effect of walking on air as pedestrians move from one side of the street to the other.
Environmental commissioner Ralf Trylla came up with the idea after seeing a similar project in New Delhi, India. Trylla was researching creative ideas on how to slow traffic when he stumbled upon the India project and came together with street painting company Vegmálun GÍH to create the effect. They experimented for several weeks before perfecting the technique and painting the crosswalk.
The visual effect is striking, as the optical illusion shifts depending on your perspective. From the air, the white stripes jump up, making them appear as a column of walls. While at ground level, the bars seem to hover just above the ground. Right now the project is experimental, with the town seeing what effect the creative zebra crossing will have before deciding if they’d like to roll out more in other areas of the village.
In Iceland, a 3D crosswalk is making the streets safer—and more fun to cross—by slowing down traffic.
After weeks of practice, the optical illusion took shape on the road.
Photo: Ágúst G. Atlason
Environmental commissioner Ralf Trylla suggested the idea after discovering the success of a 3D crossing in New Dehli, India.
The use of illusion in art is nothing new, but a small town in Iceland is using the effect to help with public safety and traffic issues. In the small fishing village of Ísafjörður, a 3D pedestrian crossing was painted last month in an effort to slow traffic on a narrow street. The eye-popping illusion gives the effect of walking on air as pedestrians move from one side of the street to the other.
