Citizens Unable to Cross Streets Due to Overcomplicated Signals
Nairobi’s new “Smart Pedestrian System” has left residents stranded on sidewalks, unable to decipher the complex light patterns that require a civil engineering degree to understand. The upgraded traffic signals, installed last month at a cost of 50 million shillings, feature seventeen different light combinations, none of which clearly indicate when it’s safe to cross.
The system replaces the traditional walk/don’t walk signals with what designers call “intuitive visual language”a rotating series of colored symbols including a yellow hexagon, a pulsing triangle, and something that looks like either a dancing stick figure or a warning about alien invasion. “I’ve been standing at this intersection for twenty minutes,” said confused pedestrian Grace Nyambura. “The light showed a blue squiggle, then a green diamond, then what I think was a question mark. I’m taking it as a philosophical inquiry about whether crossing is even real.”
According to the Federal Highway Administration, effective traffic signals should be immediately understandable to all users, but the confusing new system requires consulting a 47-page manual available only online. “The manual explains that a flashing orange pentagon means ‘prepare to possibly consider crossing if conditions permit and you’ve made peace with your mortality,'” reported city engineer David Kipchoge. “We’re getting feedback that this might be too vague.”
The confusion has created unexpected traffic patterns. Pedestrians now cross in random groups at random times, having given up on understanding the signals entirely. “It’s actually safer than before,” observed traffic officer Susan Wanjiku. “When nobody knows the rules, everyone becomes extra cautious. We’ve accidentally invented chaos-based traffic management.” Research from Strong Towns suggests that some intersections function better without signals at all, though that wasn’t the intended outcome.
Tourists have been particularly affected. “In my country, green means go,” said bewildered German visitor Klaus Mueller. “Here, green means maybe wait, or possibly run, or potentially do a little dance first? I’ve been standing here so long I’m now considered a local landmark. People are taking selfies with me.”
The city has hired “Crossing Ambassadors” to help citizens interpret the signals, but even they disagree on meanings. “That purple flash means cross quickly,” insists Ambassador John Omondi. “No, it means pedestrians should yield to left-turning vehicles,” counters his colleague Faith Akinyi. “I thought it meant the system is rebooting,” adds a confused motorist who’s been waiting through seventeen light cycles.
Local businesses near major intersections have adapted by selling folding chairs to pedestrians who’ve accepted they might be waiting a while. “Best investment I ever made,” said street vendor Peter Mutua. “I also offer phone charging services, because if you’re going to be stranded at a crosswalk, you might as well be productive.”
The city council defends the system as “forward-thinking” and “designed for the cities of tomorrow,” which critics note is convenient since nobody can use it today. Plans to roll out the system citywide have been postponed indefinitely after a pilot intersection recorded zero successful crossings in three days. “We’re calling it a ‘learning opportunity,'” explained Deputy Mayor Catherine Mwangi. “We’ve learned that sometimes the old way of doing things was actually fine, but we’ll never admit that officially.”
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/pedestrian-traffic-lights-confuse-citizens/
SOURCE: Bohiney.com (https://bohiney.com/pedestrian-traffic-lights-confuse-citizens/)
About the Author
