–Thoughts on pedestrian lights around the world
When I was in Vienna, Austria from the end of May to early June, I fell in love with their adorable pedestrian lights! First I found a cute heterosexual couple–and was even more delighted to see the couple of two men (although from a distance it also looks like friendly strangling :p) and two women (hearts beating in unison). At first I thought the lights were related to Pride Month–but it turns out that they were a temporary project in 2015 that soon became a permanent fixture!
I love anything related to symbols and tiny illustrations (my master’s thesis was on pictograms) so I wanted to take this opportunity to write further about pedestrian lights.
Diversity in signage
Signage like these are extremely important, I think. We talk a lot about diversity in literature, media representation, and political office. But these simplified little guys, gals (and non-binary figures!) are everywhere–and while they are subtle, they’re seared into our unconscious mind. I still remember that time I first saw a non-binary bathroom sign years ago, and while I was initially confused–why is her skirt titled?, I thought–learning about it made me appreciate the design.
Germany
Austria’s neighbor, Germany, is even more famous for its pedestrian lights. The beloved Ampelmann figure with the hat, originally used in East Germany, has remained even after the unification of the country, and is now an icon of Berlin. The website of a store that sells Ampelmann products explains the history of how the lights came to be: they were first designed by a traffic psychologist in 1961; and after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when everything in the former East Germany was being torn down, another designer helped save the unique little men. (The latter designer, Markus Heckhausen, now runs the company to which the above stores belong.)
The United States
When I visited Berlin in 2011, I came across a very cool exhibit on pedestrian lights around the world. They had actual lights that periodically switched between green and red, with descriptions underneath. What struck me was that the U.S. had two lights: one with “Walk/Don’t Walk” spelled out, and another with a red hand and a white man. While I don’t read German, I think the signage says “Walk/Don’t Walk” was used in Los Angeles and the other in New York, but I’m pretty sure the “Walk/Don’t Walk” is actually the one that was in New York. As a child growing up in Hawaii, I remember being confused how the lights I saw on “Sesame Street” were so different from the LA-type lights around my house. Now those are gone from NY, too, apparently replaced by the other type in 2004. While I completely agree with the importance of universal pictograms, it’s sad that the iconic lights of letters have disappeared.
When I first moved to DC in 2004, I was really impressed by the countdown of the pedestrian lights. They are so useful, especially in crossing wider roads. Apparently that was brand new back then (just started in 2003), and has now been implemented in other cities, too.
Japan
I have always been bothered by how green traffic and pedestrian lights in Japan are called ao (blue). (It’s not unique to lights, as green apples or green nori are also called ao–apparently that word traditionally referred to both blue and green). As a precocious nine year old who moved to Tokyo from Hawaii for the first time, I purposely made a point to call the lights midori (green). I also sometimes felt like the lights looked blue-green–and sure enough, apparently there has been an effort to make the lights more blue, in order to match the terminology. How interesting–I’m sure this is a rare phenomenon even among the many different lights around the world.
Let’s go!
Traffic lights, especially the “go” version of it, are so symbolic (literally) in encouraging us to proceed forward, like wind in our sails. I’m guessing that green Ampelmännchen products are much more popular than the red ones. I love how sometimes the “pedestrian” figures are on bikes or horses. But usually, the figures are all by themselves, regardless of whether they are going or stopping. What I love about the Vienna ones are that they are not alone. (Well, upon closer inspection, the heterosexual couple one I saw looks a bit like the woman is running away from the man who’s grabbing her (ummm…) but that’s another story.) This journey called life, whether we decide to go or stop, is much more fun with company–opposite gender or not.
