Infrastructure for Distracted Pedestrians: Streetlights in the Ground

Responses to the new pedestrian infrastructure in Bodegraven are likely to say these crosswalk signals in the ground are victim-blaming or Millennial-coddling.

1 minute read

March 30, 2017, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Mobile Phones

tommaso79 / Shutterstock

"A Dutch town has introduced an unusual way of trying to keep smartphone-addicted residents safe: Installing traffic lights in the pavement," writes Rob Price, sharing news originally reported in February by the Guardian.

The new strip lights are in place in Bodegraven. "Apart from their unusual location, they work just like ordinary traffic lights: Green means go, and red means wait," writes Price. The technology is called + Light Line and it’s the work of Dutch firm HIG Traffic Systems. So far the technology is in place as a trial and only at one intersection.

The BBC also reported on the new technological advancement in pedestrian infrastructure.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017 in World Economic Forum

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

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

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

November 6 - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6 - Grist

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

November 6 - KOMO News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.