A 3D Pedestrian Crosswalk In Iceland

A Short Story

Ísafjörður is a small town in the north of Iceland that has received a lot of press for its innovative 3D pedestrian crossing.

Recently there has been controversy in our small Central Florida town over the installation of a speed bump that has created a noise problem as mainly trucks start crossing the speed bump before dawn.

My wife was talking about it to her sister who sent us an article about a unique 3D pedestrian crossing in Iceland. If you search for it you’ll discover that it was painted in 2017 and oddly enough we were in Ísafjörður, Iceland just a few months ago (August 2023) and didn’t see it.

Most of the articles praised this unique crossing that uses optical illusions to create what seems like large floating blocks. It not only adds a visually striking element to the town but also serves as an effective way to grab the attention of drivers causing them to slow down and increasing pedestrian safety. This 3D pedestrian crossing in Ísafjörður has gained international attention.

I went back through my photos of Ísafjörður and actually found the street where the 3D crosswalk was supposed to be and it just wasn’t there. It’s not something you wouldn’t have noticed and I believe I know what happened. You see Ísafjörður is a small town in an isolated area in Iceland. I’m sure that in less than a week almost 99% of the towns residents would have either driven over the illusion or walked on it. How long would it have remained an effective way to slow drivers? Maybe it would have had the ability to help in say an area of Atlanta Georgia but in a town of less than 3,000 people not so much.

Above is an August 2023 photo of the street where the 3D crosswalk was installed. The only change is the advertisement on the building is now for a coffee house instead of a bakery but since it appears that I was standing on the 3D crosswalk it just wasn’t there…