In an effort to make the city's streets safer for the legions of distracted pedestrians gazing downwards at guidebooks and phone screens, NYC is taking a page from its compatriots in London and installing exhortations to “LOOK!” in its crosswalks.
Sarah Maslin Nir and Nate Schweber report on the newest front in
's campaign to improve traffic safety across New York. Borrowing an idea from the streets of London, at more than 100 of the city's most dangerous intersections, "LOOK!" will be stenciled into crosswalks to remind distracted pedestrians to watch out for increasingly distracted drivers.
"As befitting New York City, where most
crosswalk conversing is conducted at the level of a bark, the white
thermoplastic lettering includes an exclamation point," write Nir and Schweber. "London's signs
use no such brusque emphasis... In London, the signs command you to 'Look
Left' or 'Look Right.' In New York, the directional guide can be found
in the form of Cookie Monster-like irises inside the vowels that
indicate the direction of oncoming traffic."
"Ms. Sadik-Kahn said a corresponding safety campaign for drivers would
include advertisements emblazoned on 300 city buses and bus shelters.
One ad features horizontal pictures of three pairs of eyes, each looking
to a different side as if watching a tennis match. The picture reads, 'Mom was right. Look before you cross the street.'"
FULL STORY: A Reminder to Look(!) Both Ways

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing
The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents
The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
planning NEXT
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie