Despite the throngs of people that often occupy the sidewalks of Beijing, the city is not known for being particularly pedestrian friendly.
Drivers rarely give those on foot the right of way, and often refuse to yield when making right turns or passing through crosswalks.
It wasn’t until 2017 that drivers faced any real penalty for nearly running you over; a RMB200 fine was implemented in Beijing to try and improve road safety.
Image via The World of Chinese
The city also began issuing small fines of RMB5 to RMB10 for pedestrians jaywalking or ignoring traffic signals back in 2013.
However, both of these penances seemed to do little to mediate the ongoing battle between those with wheels and those without.
Enter Smart Crosswalks
Beijing first introduced ‘smart crosswalks’ in Haidian in 2020. The technology-laden zebra crossings aimed to modify the behavior of both parties and alleviate traffic jams.
Image via China News
The system broadcast audio messages to pedestrians warning them when the traffic light was about to change, and the zebra crossing was lined with small lights that flashed red or green to indicate to pedestrians when they should stop or go.
It also utilized public shaming in an effort to combat the congestion caused by people attempting to cross the street then the lights are against them; the system would snap pictures of pedestrians who crossed on a red light and show their faces on a large screen on the side of the road.
Image via Yicai Global
However, netizens expressed privacy concerns about displaying traffic violators' faces in public, and the system was modified to blur their faces, before being removed from most intersections.
Beijing’s two new luminous ‘smart crossings’ – located at the entrance of the junior high school campus of Beijing Ritan High School in the CBD and at the intersection of Jianwai Yidaojie and Yong'anli Zhongjie – stick to more traditional means of enforcing traffic regulations.
Image via BeijingServices
The illuminated crosswalks, which are expected to be implemented throughout the city, are embedded with bricks that flash yellow lights when pedestrians enter the area and will change from green to red accordingly at intersections with traffic lights.
The solar-powered ‘smart crosswalks’ will hopefully make us all a bit safer, while adding the to the lightshow metropolis that is Beijing!
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[Cover image via BeijingServices]
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