Eerbeek, a city in the eastern Netherlands, is known primarily for paper—it’s the largest paper manufacturer in the country. But now, a new pedestrian crossing has put the city on the map for urban innovation, too. It recently installed a glowing crosswalk that keeps pedestrians visible at night, according to CityLab.
Donated by the manufacturer, a local company called Lighted Zebra Crossing, the crosswalk is designed to limit car-pedestrian accidents during bad weather or at night, and can also help cyclists spot pedestrians from even farther away than their bike light might reach (or when they don’t have a light at all). The company suggests that these crosswalks could be particularly useful around schools and shopping centers.
The crossing also includes sensors for tracking traffic, including counting the number of vehicles and pedestrians that pass over the stripes, and weighing the load and measuring the speed of cars.
It’s part of a growing movement of safer urban infrastructure that lights up at night, such as glowing bike lanes and murals. Though the Netherlands already has a reputation for safe, pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly streets, these kinds of innovations could be especially useful in the U.S., where pedestrians are killed in traffic accidents at an average rate of one every two hours.
[h/t CityLab]
All images courtesy Lighted Zebra Crossing.
December 5, 2016 – 4:00pm