BJ Introduces Scramble Intersection, and More Shaming Screens
Despite all the recent attention paid to local buildings (and their subsequent harmonization),
the future of Beijing lies less in its concrete and more in the asphalt
of a nest of recent road developments, which will define the way the
capital will look and operate for generations to come.
First
up: after previous attempts to control jaywalkers have proven to be
largely unsuccessful, Beijing hopes to rein in its red light runner
problem by introducing giant video screens that loom high above several
Zhongguancun intersections. Following the first local implementation of the system
in Tongzhou last April, the screens are part of a traffic control
campaign designed to coerce pedestrians into complying with traffic
rules by publicly shaming them.
READ: Beijingers Now Being Shamed on Giant Screens In a Bid to Curb to Jaywalking
Here's
how it works: whenever a jaywalking infraction occurs at intersections
equipped with the surveillance system, the screen will show a
10-second-long video of the incident immediately after it occurred.
What's more, the screen will also include a close-up of the jaywalker's
face as part of its "hall of shame" for public display, although the
individual's eyes will be obscured to provide some measure of anonymity.
Chinese
media report that the Orwellian screens have not explicitly said
whether violators will also be penalized, either by a fine or by the
country's nascent social credit system. However, they have warned that individuals recorded by the system can be identified using facial recognition technology, the same technology Beijing residents have embraced at staffless convenience stores and transportation systems.
The
Zhongguancun jaywalker-shaming screens have been up since July and are
the latest in a long list of traffic controls that include optical illusions, dancing children, and surveillance cameras now numbering into the thousands.
READ: Tunnel Vision: Beijing's New Infrastructure Development Decried as "Inconvenient" by Locals
But
as much as the city wants to put a damper on red-light-running, it's
giving a green light to Beijing's very first scramble intersection in
Shijingshan.
The
development marks the first time the capital has opted for a
pedestrian-only traffic interval, something that will in turn adversely
affect the vehicular traffic forced to stop for them. All the same,
Beijing may be looking to capture some of the attention that neighboring
rival Tokyo has gained from its own scramble intersection: the
world-famous Shibuya Crossing, itself a landmark where tourists come just to wait at its traffic lights and then cross the street.
And,
as if that's not enough, Beijing's road to glory as an important
destination is all but ensured with Monday's unveiling of its "Seventh Ring Road,"
the nickname given to the massive 940-kilometer-long highway that
encircles the capital. The new engineering marvel (as seen in the video
below) is so large that most of it isn't even located in Beijing itself;
instead, 890 kilometers of the Seventh Ring Road lie in neighboring
Hebei Province. Designed to alleviate pressure on the Sixth Ring Road,
we can only hope they don't run out of numbers as traffic congestion in the capital continues to deteriorate with each passing year.
But
hey, we can all relax now that our reputation and pride is assured,
because with all these new transportation developments, Beijing is
finally getting the proper transportation grid it requires to have all
of its roads lead to it.
Images: BJ News (163.com), Weibo.com
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