Here’s a photo of the newest, er, sidewalk division at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 22nd Street in Manhattan. While the marks are a good joke by an unknown street artist — one that native New Yorkers will no doubt appreciate — it does raise an interesting question: Would sidewalks better serve large numbers of pedestrians if they were divided for purposes such as sight-seeing versus commuting? [SButtonZ button="digg"]
Image: Mark Armstrong
Tags: New York City, Tourist Segregation
I have a feeling the Dutch feel the same way about their bike paths
It’s PRT. Pedestrian Rapid Transit…
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If I’m not mistaken, this was SERIOUSLY studied by authorities in London for Oxford Street (which can be a misery for everyone at the best of times). Does anyone know?
I heard New York was already doing this along a street, Broadway perhaps, by reallocating road space.
I’ve always thought that there need to be “express” and “local” lanes on NYC sidewalks. Big props to whoever did this.
I believe a city in China also implemented such a concept… can’t recall where exactly, but I’d wager either Shanghai, Beijing, or Hong Kong. I recall seeing it in headlines perhaps ~2-3 yrs ago or so. I’m not sure if it’s still in place or not.
Sounds funny but also unrealistic to me — a basic “keep right” concept could help, though.
Cycle paths are separated (in NL or elsewhere) from pedestrian traffic because there is a big difference in speed.
Shanghai didn’t have anything like this when I was there last summer.
This is interesting idea, but I don’t think it can work well without constant guidance. I see it’s problem to keep cyclist and pedestrian separate on their lanes (unless there is some physical barrier), however it’s definitely worth trying in some cities, there will be no significant cost if it fails…
I’ve just spent the last 8 days trudging the footpaths of New York and can see that this may work, it would help “ new yorkers” walk in straight lines. Seemed whenever I stuck to the right side of the foot path I always ended up in the middle, If I wasnt trying to get around slow “new yorkers”, I was scooting around the copious amount of homeless, hot dog stands and street vendors on the path.
With the cyclist thing, it seems to work fine on the Brooklyn bridge, maybe if you live in New York you should venture over that area and see how it works, I thought it was a great idea.
But all that said, I think the money could be wiser spent……
Why not try out some test runs with this concept? True, it’s hard to regulate (think of escalators in the subway systems where people who stand are to stay right and people who want to pass move to the left – it isn’t always followed). I suppose the tricky part is getting people in the habit of obeying the signage. Routine users would have no problem, though tourists unfamiliar with the area or non-english speaking may not even be aware of the signs at all. Still, there’s only one way to find out if something works…