New York City is using poetry to boost traffic safety.
Colorful 8-inch square signs featuring safety messages in haiku are being installed at high-crash locations near cultural institutions and schools, including the Bronx's Grand Concourse, MoMA, downtown Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced the new safety campaign, called Curbside Haiku, on Tuesday.
Funded by a state grant from DWI funds, the series includes 12 designs with accompanying haikus that each deliver a targeted safety message by focusing on one transportation mode.
For example, a sign featuring the silhouette of "Walking Man" is paired with the haiku, “Too averse to risk / To chance the lottery, yet / Steps into traffic," to remind pedestrians to follow and respect traffic rules when crossing the street.
Click here to see all the designs.
Half of the signs will be hung in pairs, with the image and haiku text appearing. Others will be equipped with technology to allow New Yorkers to access the safety message via smartphone.
More than 200 of the signs will be installed. Artist John Morse wrote the haikus and designed the accompanying signs.
