School officials in Kansas have come up with a unique way to remind students to “look up” and pay attention at a crosswalk.
One of the keys–eyes up and phone down.
“Kids need to, and adults, need to be better nowadays about paying attention,” neighbor Erin Moore said.
Moore lives in the neighborhood where sidewalks are painted.
The Blue Valley School District painted them with phrases like “eyes up phone down” and “make eye contact” not long ago, to create a needed distraction for people who walk and use cellphones.
They’re not necessarily likely to recognize a sign that says you’re coming up to a crosswalk but they might see the contrast with the pavement from what they’re used to seeing the letters,” School District Director of Design and Construction Scott Crain said. “Those might make them look up and recognize what’s going on.”
And it’s working.
Moore walks the area about five times a week and says she’s become more aware of her surrounds since they’re popped up.
“I get to this spot, and I’m always like making sure that I’m looking up and around and not being the guilty one that’s on my phone like I always am,” Moore said.
While this isn’t necessarily a problem area, the district’s director of design and construction says keeping students safe is a high priority.
“The concern comes in when either the pedestrian or the driver is distracted and we see that occurring more and more these days,” Crain said.
The painted crosswalks are currently at two schools in the district but the hope is to have it district-wide soon.