Scramble, Torontonians, Scramble!

by Jordan Yerman | August 29, 2008 at 08:08 am

305 views | 9 Recommendations | 6 comments

Now Torontonians don't have to visit the great scramble-intersections of the world, such as Tokyo, London and Calgary... we have a scramble of our very own, down at Yonge and Dundas.

Instead of typical alternating red lights, now this intersection has three green-light modes: all stop, go east-west, and go north-south. During the first phase, pedestrians can cross from any corner to any other corner... in a scramble!

I normally commute via 2-wheeled vehicle, but I wanna go try the intersection just for fun.

"At first it was like, 'What are we doing walking in the middle of the street?,' " Laurie Chaves, 20, a student at George Brown College, said after strolling across with lunchtime crowds that flooded the intersection with up to 100 people at a time, some filming the event with cellphone cameras.

Oh, and, for the record, I wanted to go check this out yesterday, but didn't have a chance to get away... ironic, no?

sweet! I'm going to head down there today to check it out.

For more insight into the story, check out my http://blogto.com/city/2008/08/pedestrians_learn_to_scramble_at_yonge_dundas/ write-up (with more photos) on blogTO.

jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff.

A sure sign of over population.
Thanks for letting us know. I’ll have to check it out!

That's a great video - I am familiar with the 'great scramble intersections in London', but never thought Toronto would have one...

jordan, I like this story. It's good stuff. This might seem revolutionary but it still has lights and road markings - there are some places where they are removing most signs, lights and road markings in city centres - apparently the lack of road markings and signs actually makes people drive and walk more safely as they have to use their own senses and judgement rather than see white line see green light - then must be safe - mode. Enjoy the fun but be careful out there!

Hans Monderman is a traffic engineer who hates traffic signs. Oh, he can put up with the well-placed speed limit placard or a dangerous curve warning on a major highway, but Monderman considers most signs to be not only annoying but downright dangerous. To him, they are an admission of failure, a sign - literally - that a road designer somewhere hasn't done his job. "The trouble with traffic engineers is that when there's a problem with a road, they always try to add something," Monderman says. "To my mind, it's much better to remove things."

Monderman died in January of this year but he leaves us his theory of 'Shared Space' - his ideas will live on.