People are always on their phone and not paying attention to the outside world. China is one of the most technological savy countries, so why wouldn't they be the first country to have a mobile phone pedestrian lane?
According to The Washington Post, the city of Chongqing, will be the first in the world to experiment with a mobile phone pedestrian lane. A mobile phone pedestrian lane will allow pedestrians to look down on their phone as they are walking. It may seem silly, but it is very accurate on the way people use their technology today. The mobile pedestrian lane will just look like any other bike lane, but for pedestrians. Although some people in Chongqing have taken advantage of the lane, others have become fascinated by it. The lane has become a tourist attraction and people have been standing around taking pictures of it.
Although this new lane won't be monitored like an HOV lane, it is more of a suggestion than an actual law. This new lane goes to show how technology is taking over peoples' daily lives. A person can't even put down their phone for just two minutes to cross the street.
Leo Benedictus posed some great questions. "The scheme also raises some fairly obvious questions. How will people so distracted by their phones that they are bumping into lampposts manage to stay within the lines of the lane? Even if they do, why will they not bump into each other all the time, or walk straight into the road when the lane finishes? How, for that matter, will they even notice the existence of the lane in the first place?" This raises the question of if the people are even aware or care what they are doing.
The question is whether or not this lane will work and will it spread to more cities around the world? It is definetely a good idea. The new lane will help the mobile phone users stay out of the way of traffic and other pedestrians. According to The Washington Post, the mobile phone pedestrian lanes came from the idea of the bike lanes in Washington D.C. The point of the new lane is to raise awareness of the how people interact with their smartphones.
It's a growing epedemic. People don't pay attention to their surroundings because they are too caught up with being on their phone. Whether they're sending a message, browsing the internet, or on a phone call, people are not worried about what is going on around them. I think a mobile phone pedestrian lane will be successful in New York City. Who knows, maybe in a year or so mobile phone pedestrian lanes will be the new bike lanes.