New York City shows its poetic prowess by using artistic haiku safety signs at heavily trafficked areas. Referred to as “Curbside Haiku," the Department of Transportation (DOT) launched the campaign in November, 2011. New Yorkers will soon see these creative traffic safety signs throughout the five boroughs.
The brightly colored signs mimicking traditional street safety signs were created by artist John Morse. The colorful artwork is accompanied by a catchy haiku poem about traffic safety. NYC was the venue of legendary poets such as Emma Lazarus, Anthony Hecht and Walt Whitman. As an artists' mecca, this unique campaign seems to suit the city.
There are 144 signs promoting road safety placed throughout NYC. Each sign encourages safety by focusing on various modes of transportation including walking, biking and driving. The goal is to keep the city streets safe for everyone using them.
According to the NYC DOT, some of the signs are mysteriously fun with an embedded QR code. People with smartphone apps use them to discover the safety message. Some are hung in pairs with an image and haiku text. The idea is to ensure the signs are noticed so safety messages are delivered.
The unique haiki campaign is the brainchild of the DOT and a public-private partnership, Safe Streets Fund. According to their website, the Safe Streets Fund, “aims to reduce the number of traffic-related injuries and fatalities in New York City through innovative social marketing and direct education programs for children and others at risk. Through this education we hope build a culture of respect for all users of our city streets.”
The New York City Pedestrian Safety Study & Action Plan from the DOT in 2010 stated, “Over the past decade we have made tremendous progress in reducing traffic fatalities in New York City. 2009 was in fact the safest year on record since the City began collecting data in 1910; annual traffic fatalities are down by 35 percent compared to 2001.”
The report continues, “New York’s streets are far safer than any other big city in this country. Our traffic fatality rates are more on par with world class cities such as London, Paris or Berlin. But even one fatality is too many. DOT aims to reduce by half the number of traffic deaths by 2030.”
Signs bear bold, eye-catching images with haiku such as, “Imagine a world where every move matters. Welcome to that world.” and “Aggressive driver. Aggressive pedestrian. Two crash test dummies.” According to Scholastic, haiku was first made popular in Japan and conveys a vivid message in just 17 syllables.
The new signs are located citywide in places such as the Brooklyn Museum area and the MoMA/International Center of Photography area. More will be installed in the Bronx, Staten Island and Queens as well as other areas of Brooklyn and Manhattan.
New Yorkers who want an artistic sign or poster of their own will find them for sale at the Safe Streets Fund website. All proceeds from the sales go into traffic safety education and awareness.
Artist John Morse stated, "Curbside Haiku seeks to merge public art with public awareness to infuse a bit of beauty and joy into the public sphere with the images while underscoring the realities of the message with poetry. I’m aiming to engage, edify and inform and nothing does that better than art."
A joint effort of the DOT’s Safety Education and Urban Art programs, Commissioner Sadik-Khan said, "We’re putting poetry into motion with public art to make New York City’s streets even safer. These signs complement our engineering and education efforts to create a steady rhythm for safer streets in all five boroughs."
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