this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2024
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It's a "mature" version of "crossing flags" that are a not uncommon sight in Japan near school zones:
What are they used for? You just take one and wave it?
That's right, anyone crossing takes it, holds it in front of them, and crosses.
(The flag reads "crossing in progress")
If they're anything like the ones in Korea, they hire someone to be there during busy times, and whenever someone wants to cross, the person steps out with the flag and stops traffic. Usually in school zones.
You just pick one up and carry it across the road and then drop it off in the little bin on the other side. The idea is that you're more visible when you're holding a flag.
I've seen those in the US not too long ago, too.
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I hate going there because of all the fucking idiots in their dumb cars stinking up the place.
That whole place is a wasted opportunity for a pedestrian zone. It would be so nice if they'd kept the temporary tram line from the Olympics and banned personal vehicles.
It baffles me how Vancouver does these really awesome things and then they're like "haha no, this amazing concept that made the city a bit better was just temporary".
No doubt this is partly making fun of this idiotic idea.
I think you're right and Strong Towns just tested out that theory. Spoiler: it did not work. I really hope they try it again with the brick.
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I'm going there in a couple weeks, would be cool of this was real.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Bricks)
@mondoman712
I fashioned a large, hand held metal stop sign on a board. That’s why I carry when I cross busy streets in my neighborhood. I hold it out in front of myself like a flag. Drivers will slow if they think they might hit a big piece of metal. And drivers will bully soft fleshy humans with the threat of great bodily harm. It’s not very nice but it helps keep me alive.
It’s not very nice but it helps keep me alive.
I think it's important to keep in mind that the dominant traffic control structure in the US is the stoplight, which relies heavily on "mutually assured destruction" to work. So that's in everyone's head when driving around: "I stop because I don't want to get hurt." To me, it's pretty clear that escalation to vehicular damage is the only thing that makes sense for pedestrians in such an environment. Yeah, it's not nice, but so is the rest of the game.
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- Granville Island should be car-free, full stop;
- I actually don’t find that specific crossing very bad;
- This is still funny as hell.
i remember seeing a video where a guy stood next to a huge puddle to see if people would splash him when driving by, they all did
then he did the same thing except he was carrying a brick and everybody slowed down so as to not splash him
I'm from a much less pedestrian friendly city, and I completely agree with point #1. There are a lot of other ways to get to Granville and it's so close quarters with cars, you can't even swing a cat
It seems, that the laws are to blame. In my country, when a pedestrian stands near a crossing tha car has to stop under penalty. Even if the pedestrian is just walking towards the crossing. Drivers usually comply.
That is the law on Ontario, all lanes of traffic must stop for someone using a pedestrian crossover (zebra crossing). The penalty for failure to comply is $1000 and 4 demerits. Fines are doubled ($2000) in community safety zones.
The law isn't to blame; driver compliance, enforcement, and road design is.
The number of people that slowly inch their bumpers towards the old lady crossing the street so they can zoom past is truly disgusting. Could you imagine treating your own mother like that?
Some stranger? No way.
My own mother? Absolutely.
Anyways, my thought is that crosswalks should default to walking, and if cars want to pass then can get out and press a beg button to get the light.
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We should pressure our governments to install these in every crossing where >1 pedestrian has been hit by a car
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They look like foam bricks. Same results, virtually no chance of harm in case of brick throwing. Win-win.
Hilarious! 😂
is it legal to carry flashing red and blue lights when crossing streets as a pedestrian? The number of times I've gotten stuck in the middle of the crosswalk bc no one will stop is absurd
Maybe custom blinking shoes like what they used to make for kids back in the day? Just mimic the blinking pattern.
There are many people who still wouldn't notice until the siren comes on though. I can spot an interceptor if the sunlight just happens to hit it right, yet my mom will drive right past a parked white cop car with lights on and be surprised when I told her she didn't slow down to pass it. Then if an emergency siren goes off she panics and tries to pull to the shoulder without locating the emergency vehicle when fully blocked in by other cars and only moving enough to block the ambulance driving along the shoulder.
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Seems great in practice, but wait until someone with the slightest hint of paranoia misattributes a threat against their car, to a threat against their safety.
One of three things happen:
- Driver freaks out and freezes up.
- Driver freaks out and speeds away (possibly causing an accident)
- Driver freaks out and aims their car at you and puts their foot down.
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