CityLab Daily: Hong Kong Looks to Protect Jaywalkers With LED Lights
Also today: A new project brings “bikepooling” to Los Angeles, and New York City subway barriers get a conceptual push.
LED lights illuminate a sidewalk at a crossing point in Hong Kong.
Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/BloombergHong Kong is piloting a novel approach to keep distracted pedestrians — particularly those glued to their smartphones — from jaywalking. The city has installed LED lights that bathe crossing points in a red glow in hopes that it will catch the attention of people gazing down at their devices and remind them to stop. Reaction has been mixed.
The six-month trial at four locations in Hong Kong builds on decades of global innovation aimed at curbing pedestrian fatalities at road crossings, including cuckoo cries for the visually impaired and vibrating touch panels. But some warn that making pedestrians more attentive is only part of the solution, Bloomberg’s Hayley Wong reports. Today on CityLab: Red Lights at Hong Kong Crosswalks Are Helping Phone Zombies Cross the Street.