Elementary Students Create 3D Crosswalk That Forces Drivers to Slow Down

Two Massachusetts elementary school students are being praised for their innovative approach to slowing drivers: 3D crosswalk bars. The multi-dimensional message is simple: slow down. And, it was presented by friends Isa and Eric.

“I love it. It looks amazing. Exactly how I pictured it and more,” said 10-year-old Isa, who attends Brooks Elementary School in Medford. The crosswalk does, indeed, pop right up at you.

“When you’re walking across you can tell it’s painted, but what we hope is, when you’re driving down, you’ll see it as 3D, three dimensional. So it looks real,” said Isa. Hopefully, drivers will be prompted to stop.

The friends wanted to do something to slow down drivers after Eric’s brother had a close call with a car. “We were thinking of a way we could do something to help make the street safer,” explained Isa.

Both kids are members of the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility (CCSR) in Medford. As 10 WBNS TV reports, the organization encourages kids to get involved in the community.

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Mike Coates, a Brooks Elementary teacher and advisor for CCSR, said the kids worked with the city’s bureaucracy to make the project happen. “I think it’s great. It certainly would make me stop,” he said. “It’s a great example of them sticking to an idea and going through all the steps and talking, in this case, to all the adults and all the powers that be.”

All in all, it took one year before the project was given the green light. “Books don’t teach you this. Civic engagement is something that you see happen. You see success, and then you try to emulate it and do more,” said Medford Mayor Stephanie Burke.

Local artist Nate Swain painted the multi-dimensional crosswalk. By this summer, the city will add 3D crosswalks to the other three elementary schools.

This isn’t the first time 3D crosswalks have been implemented. In the small fishing town of Ísafjörður, Iceland, zebra-colored 3D crosswalks were also installed to slow down drivers.

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Lead image: WGRZ TV