Recently, a game changing text walking lane by a local smartphone specialist MLab has been introduced in Antwerp department store, Shopping Stadsfeestzaal together with other locations. Consumers could use the special lanes for walking and texting without colliding into one another, thus making it easy to communicate with their colleagues while indulging in shopping.
However, the Antwerp city council is said to be less impressed with this project since it seems that the MLab had not discussed the marking stunt strategy with the officials. The authorities have stated that on discovering the texting lanes, the drawings utilised in creating the lanes would be removed as no permits were obtained as well as advertising has been prohibited in Antwerp. Besides this, it has also not been confirmed on how much the removal of the lanes would cost. Committed walkways have been marked with white paint with signs of `text walking lane’, now tend to line busy pavements in the city centre in order that people who are busy with their devices don’t bump into the other pedestrians.
Smartphone Users – Their Own Designated Lanes
Antwerp has given users of smartphone, their own designated lanes which are considered to be a publicity stunt of Dutch smartphone specialist MLab with his focus in eliminating `text walking’ disasters, who states that several smartphones are broken during collisions between the pedestrians. If the lanes are tried to reduce the number of accidents causing broken screens, buttons or cases, officials are of the opinion that they could be made permanent.
These were intended to be temporary only, however people have been taking to them and the developers are hoping that there is a chance of it catching up in the near future. The markings on the ground are visible white paint though some of the lanes wind through narrow cobbled streets. However, negotiating corners would probably remain to be challenging for people who tend to have their eyes fixed to the phone screens.
Everyone Textwalks – Don’t Pay Attention to Surroundings
A MLab spokesman informed Yahoo news - `Everyone textwalks, you probably walk through the streets while texting or sending Whatsapp messages to your friends and don’t really pay attention to your surroundings, only to whatever is happening on your screen. This causes collisions with poles or other pedestrians. You could unknowingly, even be endangering your own life while you textwalk when you cross the street without looking up’.
A similar initiative was launched though on a smaller scale in Washington DC last July by the National Geographic TV channel, but Antwerp’s is said to be the first in Europe. Several walkers, in Washington, had ignored the markings, though some took out their mobiles to photograph the lane markings and the `no cell phones’ since that were painted elsewhere on the pavement.
Chinese authorities had a lane on a 100 ft. stretch of pavement, marked out for mobile users in a theme park called `Foreigner Street’ in the city of Chongqing in September. According to officials it was said that the markings were intended in reminding people that it is best not to play with your phone while walking. There is a belief that there are more mobile phones in the world than people. As per figures provided by telecommunications companies, while the global population is estimated to be around 7.2 billion, there are about 7.5 billion mobiles around.
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