Crossing Guide
Pedestrian Safety Installation

Time Frame

4 weeks

Partners

N/A

Semester

Spring 2020

The urban neighborhood of Weinland Park in Columbus, OH is split by two major roads that run through the community, making walkability a challenge for many of the area's residents. This is particularly worrisome in the area around the local elementary school and park, where the safety of young children becomes a major concern.

Drawing on the concept of ‘nudging’ as described in the book Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, the Crossing Guide helps to make Weinland Park safer and more walkable while also introducing playfulness to the neighborhood in an unexpected way.

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.44.00 AM.png

The red ‘x’s on this map indicate spots where walkability was observed to be a challenge for community members. These locations primarily run along Summit Street and N Fourth Street, the two major roads that cross through Weinland Park.

Background

The first step in this process was to visit the neighborhood of Weinland Park and identify areas in which walkability proved to be a challenge. The area presented in the photograph on the left crosses a fairly busy road and was identifiable as a crosswalk to pedestrians, but it was not clearly marked as a crosswalk from the perspective of drivers, creating a major safety issue.

Design Opportunities

design to alert drivers to the presence of pedestrians
design to prioritize the safety of pedestrians, especially young children
design to make the experience of crossing the street fun and unique

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.37.49 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.37.44 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.28.14 AM.png

This user journey allowed me to reflect on the kind of movement that I incorporated into the final design, as well as the way users interacted with the installation to initiate its movement.

Ideation

I explored light, lateral and rotational movement, color, and form as a means of attracting attention and indicating to drivers that a crosswalk existed here.

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.28.01 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.27.48 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.27.42 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-05-26 at 10.27.55 AM.png

Renderings

In the final concept, abstract forms are suspended from wires that span the street where the crosswalk is located. Pedestrians grab the rope attached to the forms, then slide the form overhead along the wire as they cross the street.

The installation catches the attention of drivers with its bright colors and playful forms, and draws awareness to the movement of pedestrians crossing the street as they slide the forms along wires above them. Upon seeing this installation, drivers are alerted to the presence of pedestrians and encouraged to slow down.

Stoppers near the ends of the wires prevent the forms from accidentally drifting into the middle of the road. The stoppers allow the forms to be moved by people, but not the wind.