Sunday, November 1, 2009

Question du Jour #24


I noticed when we were in Barcelona a few days ago that the "walk" signals at intersections, like the ones at home in New York, give an indication of when they are going to turn from green to red. In Barcelona, the green walking-guy light flashes a few times to tell pedestrians to hurry across the street, whereas in New York, the red not-walking-guy flashes for a while before solidly insisting that you not walk. In Paris, he turns directly from green to red with no warning. And I'm wondering:

Why do other cities let you know when cars are going to start coming, but not Paris?

2 comments:

  1. Because driving is a sport in Paris won based solely on the number of points you accrue nearly running down pedestrians?

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  2. I don't know, but remind me to bring my running shoes!

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