There's a new crosswalk in northwest Kansas City, Kansas. If you're in the area, you'll likely slow down to take a look. And that's the point.
The neighborhood association of Northridge at Piper Estates told the city they wanted to find a new way to make sure cars don't speed. So, City Traffic Engineer Lideana Laboy did some research, and came across 3D crosswalks in Iceland.
Laboy pitched it to the neighborhood a few months ago and they were in favor, so the city's Public Works team got to work.
The metro's first 3D crosswalk was finished late last week. Laboy said that if the test run works, she'd like to put more of them up across the city, specifically in residential neighborhoods.
"This is a creative way to attract pedestrians to the area where they should cross rather than cross anywhere else. And from the driver perspective, we want to monitor how that influences their behavior," she said.
Laboy's team plans to monitor the crosswalk over the next few months.
Andrea Tudhope is a reporter at KCUR 89.3. Email her at andreat@kcur.org, and follow her on Twitter @andreatudhope.
