Before you cross: Look left, look right, and definitely don’t forget to look down.
All photos by Christo Guelov.
An artist named Christo Guelov has created these eye-popping crosswalks all over the city of Madrid.
The dazzling creations are part art installation, part safety feature.
Guelov used simple geometric designs and saturated colors to bring vibrancy to the urban landscape.
He said his initial goal was “the intervention of public space.”
And, well … mission beautifully accomplished.
But when he presented the idea to the municipal council, they told him they thought it might actually help encourage people to cross the street safely and properly.
Safe Kids Worldwide lists pedestrian injuries as one of the top causes of death for kids ages 5 to 19, at least in the U.S.
That’s why Guelov chose to spruce up mainly crosswalks that were outside of schools.
There’s been a lot of research on what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to crosswalk design.
But most of us can agree that “normal” crosswalks are boring and easy to ignore.
So it’s hard to argue with anything that gets more drivers to pay attention to them, and better yet, anything that makes pedestrians feel like they’re not intruders in a world built for and dominated by automobiles.
Kudos to Guelov for bringing a little beauty to the streets of Madrid.
Hopefully his work will get pedestrians and drivers to perk up, engage with the world around them, and stay safe while they’re crossing the street.
Either way, they sure are super fun to look at.
