Street-side gates stop jaywalking
A woman walks at the crossing of Huancheng and Baziqiao roads.
In suburban Shanghai’s Fengxian District, the screen doors often seen on Metro platforms have been installed at street level to hold back jaywalkers.
At the intersection of Huancheng Road E. and Baziqiao Road, doors on all four corners open and shut in synch with green and red lights, preventing people from walking onto the zebra crossings when the lights are red, in theory at least.
Jiang Zhonglei, director of community safety in Fengpu subdistrict which set up the doors, said some pedestrians still manage to squeeze through.
“After a few years of hard work, motorists now behave much better than before, but pedestrians, bike and e-bike riders are still a headache,” Jiang said.
The number of traffic offenses at the intersection has fallen by about 80 percent from the same period last year since the gates went up.
“There are buttons on the side of the doors facing the street so that if pedestrians haven’t reached the other side when the lights change, they can open the doors,” Jiang said.
The doors are not cheap, but appear to be successful and may be introduced to other intersections in the district.
Jiang said community volunteers will attend the doors to help people understand their purpose.
