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| Let your feet sweep over the art baby! |
So they killed two problems with one stone. They got graffiti artists to do their work on the ground rather than walls and ended up with artworks that people cannot wait to lay their feet upon. The organizers claim it has led to a dramatic decrease in pedestrian deaths and so forth but we are skeptics here in the Tower. But cool idea nonetheless. More here.
Yes, but are their drivers more likely to respect the crosswalks than ours? (Ours tend to see those stripes as targetting zones to the point where I am quite surprised and suspicious when a car actually stops to let me cross.)
ReplyDeleteGood idea.
ReplyDeleteThe only drawback being that the artwork would quickly succumb to our inclement weather conditions: snow, ice, pot-holes, etc.
Indeed, the fact that our existing crosswalks are only really visible during the milder months tends to make drivers forgetful of their existence.
Furthermore, very few of our crosswalks have signs and overhead flashing yellow lights associated with them.
I can think of only one crosswalk with overhead signage and lights I encounter regularly, and it's in front of an old folks home. Sad to say, but we could learn a lot from Toronto in this regard.
ReplyDeleteI believe that they're uncommon because people find 'em ugly.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, Montrealers tend to cross on a red light for the simple reason that our cold winters make us impatient to wait--especially downtown where, for example, you're on Ste. Catherine waiting to cross at narrow streets like Bishop or MacKay.
ReplyDeleteIf no cars are coming and you know it will take just two or three strides to reach the opposite corner, why would you wait for the green light?
Despite this, however, recently I have noticed more pedestrians actually waiting for the green, but they're probably tourists!
Update: The "trial crosswalk" with the sign and flashing lights at the corner of Cote des Neiges and Swail Avenue (opposite the Metro Supermarket) is no longer there.
ReplyDeletePedestrians beware. Cross over at Queen Mary Road to stay alive.
Update:
ReplyDeleteThe trial crosswalk at Swail and Cote des Neiges has since been replaced by a traffic light--which was inevitable due to the failure of the dangerous trial crossing at this very busy pedestrian area.
There was a thread in this blog concerning certain pedestrian and school children's push-button traffic lights which were, in fact, either fake or timed to switch off by computer during certain hours of the day.
See this article regarding such "phony buttonry":
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150415-the-buttons-that-do-nothing