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.

March 30, 2017, 11am PDT | James Brasuell | @CasualBrasuell

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"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.

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This Dutch town has traffic lights on the ground because people are staring at their phones

Published on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 in World Economic Forum