Safety Improvements for Texters Around the World

Cities are experimenting with safety measures for pedestrians who text while they walk, but the projects could benefit everyone.

1 minute read

May 8, 2016, 11:00 AM PDT

By Elana Eden


Seeing Eye People

Joseph Lin / Improv Everywhere

In Germany, the cities of Cologne and Augsburg have installed new traffic lights in the ground next to some rail crossings, for those looking down at their phones. In Munich, some crossings communicate with smartphones through an app.

And at a theme park in China, pedestrians make use of a designated "phone lane."

The impetus for these experiments may be new-fangled, but as a parent points out in The Guardian, Augsburg's ground lights also grab the attention of kids. And buses that announce when they're about to turn, like those piloted in Portland, Seattle and Cleveland, could be helpful to walkers in a variety of situations.

By contrast, an Idaho city took a punitive approach, levying fines of $50 for texting while walking.

Friday, April 29, 2016 in The Guardian

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

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.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

5 hours ago - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

7 hours ago - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine