Newly proposed NYC traffic signals would let pedestrians cross in any direction

You could be seeing a lot more of the “pedestrian scramble” in NYC. 

No, that’s not a cheesy, choreographed dance routine you may have done at a wedding reception or Bar Mitzvah in the ‘90s. It’s actually the informal name for a specific type of traffic signal that stops cars on all sides of an intersection. During that fleeting moment of complete freedom and bliss, pedestrians are able to cross the street in any direction they please.

The City Council will vote later today on whether to fund a study exploring installing more of the pedestrian-friendly signals across New York. The signal can already be found at a few intersections in the city, including one in Union Square, and it’s widely used in other big cities like London, Washington D.C. and L.A. 

Eventually, the Council hopes to install the traffic-stopping “scrambles” at 25 of NYC’s busiest intersections.

h/t New York Post