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'Text Walking Lanes': Antwerp Sets Up Temporary Scheme

posted by janrinok on Tuesday June 23 2015, @12:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the look-up,-problem-solved dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

People sending text messages in the centre of the Belgian city of Antwerp have been provided with dedicated temporary "text walking lanes" so that they do not collide with pedestrians.

The initiative - some would say publicity stunt - is the brainchild of a smartphone store based in the city. It says that a significant number of mobile phone breakages happen because of "text walking" collisions. There are now believed to be more mobile phones in the world than people.

Figures released by mobile operators and associated companies show that there are about 7.5 billion mobiles in the world, compared to a world population estimated to be 7.2 billion by the US Census Bureau. The "text walking lanes" may become permanent fixtures

"You probably walk through the streets while texting or sending Whatsapp messages to your friends and don't really pay attention to your surroundings - only to whatever is happening on your screen," a spokesman for Mlab, a smart phone laboratory based in Antwerp, was quoted by Yahoo News as saying.

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  • (Score: 1) by vrt3 on Tuesday June 23 2015, @03:02PM

    by vrt3 (5494) on Tuesday June 23 2015, @03:02PM (#199908)

    It's a pure publicity stunt of the store. City council isn't pleased, and demands that the store clean it up ASAP.

    I live in Antwerp, but haven't bothered to go and have a look. What I don't understand: there is only one lane; are people supposed to all walk in the same direction? Otherwise collisions between people walking in opposite directions are guaranteed.

  • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday June 23 2015, @06:58PM

    by nitehawk214 (1304) on Tuesday June 23 2015, @06:58PM (#200035)

    Perhaps you have discovered their plan. Make the textwalkers crash into each other!

    --
    "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 23 2015, @11:52PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 23 2015, @11:52PM (#200153)

    "Texting lane" at UVU stairway goes viral [deseretnews.com]

    A stairway in the Student Life and Wellness Center on the Orem campus [of Utah Valley University] now has three lanes designated--one for walkers, one for runners, and one for texters. [deseretnews.com]

    The original idea was really about having a fun interior building design and not necessarily about directing student traffic. But some are following the marked lanes.

    "It was never meant to be obeyed. It really was an aesthetic pleasing design element, but that's OK. We'll take it either way," said UVU public relations director Melinda Colton. "It was really just a fun thing. We wanted the students to know that this is their building."

    -- gewg_