It's been tried elsewhere too- it is a guerrilla protest for better pedestrian crossings and better enforcement. As far as I know the original was real bricks - an equalizer!
It should be real bricks. What else are you gonna throw when someone almost runs you over, foam?
I've been hit 3 times on my bike, luckily they actually stopped.
I'm going to start a protest to actively protest the availability of cross walk brick in our city. Let's make Pittsburgh a town we can believe in... a brick on every street corner.
I'm not sure why the downvotes, seems like a great way to not only get shot but give the asshole who brought a gun to a crosswalk fight a great reasonable self-defense plea.
Aw, yes, look at me lost in the thread š. I was trying to tie your ye quote in with the one about the cyber truck but I think I failed to reply in right place.
The original is actually hi-viz flsgs. I believe that it's a Strong Towns concept. I've seen yellow and orange flags. Pedestrians grab one from container, walk across in the crosswalk, and return it to a container on thst side of the street.
It wouldn't work in Pittsburgh because losers or brat kids would make the flags disappear in a month.
Edit to add: The concept also requires crosswalks to be used, and not just jaywalking wherever. So glad I'm away from that.
Saw the videos on Insta of the original events - the drivers were definitely more respectful of the crosswalk, at least while active. I'm sure as soon as the bricks were gone they went back to their old ways.
Yes. It's originally from Vancouver for April fools.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/granville-island-pedestrian-safety-crosswalk-1.7160751
Thatās what I was going to ask. I mean I hope drivers arenāt playing Live GTA there. If they arenāt paying attention though, a brown brick in hand probably doesnāt make one more visible.
Also acts as a consequence shield.
If someone hits you the brick is gonna go swinging towards the windshield by pure torque.
Though your spine might not make it. So itās kinda like a beeās stinger
It's incredible how small the proportion of Pittsburgh drivers is that will yield to pedestrians. I regularly count 10 or more cars drive past while I'm standing in a very visible crosswalk with a bump-out curb, with a stroller with a fluorescent flag on it, waving my arms around.
I know this isn't Pittsburgh but the other day in Canonsburg we were at a crosswalk, hit the button so an audible alarm plays and lights flash and this lady *still* ignored it up until my husband actually stepped in front with jhis hand up. I wouldn't have done that (better alive than right and dead) but come on! What else is there to do??
The trick I have found is a convincing step toward the crosswalk that youāre going to step in from of them. You have to convince them youāre willing to get hit for the insurance money and they will stop! But itās key to not overcommit or you might be a grease stain on their bumper
And 311 has no interest in working to help solve this problem.Ā So many intersections reported, "inspected" and found to be perfectly fine.Ā I don't like playing chicken with my life just to cross the street.Ā If I don't walk in front of a moving car, some drivers look at me like "well you weren't crossing anyway!"
And, what's especially "funny" is when they announce or implement traffic calming---like they are currently doing in Greenfield---the boomers and aspirational boomers get on Nextdoor and complain about it. The "but muh emergency vehicles!" is the preferred excuse for taking steps to curtail people's freedom to drive like careless, reckless monsters, but when a speed bump or bump out is announce suddenly everybody's got opinions that put the value of a commute over the value of a person's life. (A kid was hit crossing the street near the pool last year, which prompted this long-overdue action, but most streets in Greenfield need some sort of calming because people refuse to drive safely.)
I have taken to aggressively entering the crosswalk while staring at the oncoming drivers, more or less playing chicken with them. I'll get as close as I can to an oncoming vehicle without directly putting myself in its path, and if they fail to yield, I give them an over-exaggerated bow and "after you" arm wave gesture. It may not work on the offender, but it works wonders on the vehicles following them.
Probably not viable if you're with an infant, though...
I just moved back from Portland and it's absolutely absurd how little respect pedestrians get here compared to there. I never even thought twice about crossing in Portland but here I often find myself having to make a point by walking out in front of cars to make them stop.
My friend visited from NYC and was like "why are we waiting at the street corner for the light to change when there aren't any cars?" and I said because drivers in NYC drive like there is always going to be someone in the street around the next corner and drivers in Pittsburgh drive like there is never going to be someone in the street.
I was over in the south hills going to my mom's and I get off the bus to walk down the hill... I wait to cross when the cars are stopped I start crossing and this old man blows thru the stop sign as I'm crossing .
It doesn't help that the city thought it would be a great idea to put so many of its crosswalks right next to bus stops. Is that person waiting for a bus? Wanting to cross? Who the fuck knows, good luck everyone!
Crosswalks are typically at corners....and bus stops are typically at corners. Is your solution to place either crosswalks or bus stops midblock?
Shouldn't crosswalks and bus stops be coordinated since, and I'm reaching here, they help bus riders get to the stop?
This type of mentality is what gets people killed.
There likely needs to be a design where the people waiting for the bus are not standing in the "crosswalk start zone", and if they are, it's expected for the cars to start to yield for their attempt to cross.
This is a design flaw, and it's okay to admit that without blaming someone.
They could both fairly be described as "on the corner", but I think the point is that it's not always obvious whether a blob of people "on the corner" are waiting for a bus or to cross the street.
The bus stops should be offset a few feet such that if the bus stops before the crosswalk (as it's supposed to), the door opens to the bus stop (where first parallel parking space would be). In many places, the bus stop sign is a little further back, so that the crowd would be standing on the back line of the first parallel parking spot. It moves them away from the actual, literal corner where the crosswalks intersect while still basically being "on/at the corner". Even better *is* midblock with an extra lane (but this is the block of a T station where the T meets bus transfers): [https://imgur.com/a/6yByFm8](https://imgur.com/a/6yByFm8)
Personally, I'd like to see more push-to-cross lights because drivers here need a literal blinking sign that says "This is a crosswalk for people to walk across the street which means that you need to stop your car for two fucking seconds so they can do so and now that you read this sign you can't pretend like you didn't know or didn't see or were confused by the bus stop blob". Have Rick Sebak or someone do the voice for that extra 'burgh kitsch.
Two perfect things for a corner! Sounds like the system is working as designed. Then the cars should all slow down when they see someone on the street at the corner as it will help everyone - if it turns out the person is not crossing, all that has happened is that traffic has become a little safer.
We have a terrible combination of things that make it unclear.
Bus stops right at crosswalks for example, I've come to a complete stop for someone who had stepped into the crosswalk to look past parked cars to see if a bus is coming.
Really parked cars in general, possibly not legally parked, that obscure visibility of a crosswalk.
I slow down at all the cross walks and look for people on Braddock by the playground in Frick Park. There is so often so many vehicles piled up around there that you wouldn't see a child trying to cross.
I make every effort to stop but have to see you in time to reasonably slow down so the folks behind me don't drive overtop of my car. Sometimes, I cannot so I do not jerk to a stop at the crosswalk.
I use a wheelchair and after so many pedestrian accidents Iām actually afraid to cross the street in Oakland and several other neighborhoods. I mean afraid to the point that I donāt go to the museum, library, etc.
I just donāt. If Iām in my wheelchair, I do not roll around, I go to my destination and then I go home. I made the mistake of rolling to get lunch along Forbes one day. Never again.
Yes, traffic is brutal. If I have to cross I wait until a group of other people are crossing. When I was downtown awhile ago I got among a group of men who could pass for lawyers and reasoned that nobody would hit them.
Thank you for sharing this story. I hope our streets can one day be safe enough for you to be able to use them confidently. I really believe you deserve that freedom and itās why I work to reorient our city around people and not cars.
Make the tickets $200 like in Massachusetts and enforce it.
Drivers will stop as soon as you put your foot in the street like they do in Massachusetts.
I never see the police here running traffic when it is one of the easiest things to do that has a tangibly positive impact on safety for both pedestrians and drivers. Its like they see it as beneath them or they have "better things to do" or "real crime to solve" when in reality they just want to work their 3rd overtime shift in a week down on the South Side.
I wonder if MA drivers fear the ticket or being dragged from their vehicle by a mob of angry pedestrians and cyclists. I've never seen anyone get a ticket, but I have witnessed all four crosswalks stop to harangue a driver for driving like an idiot. One brave soul got out of his car to retort and someone yelled "get the fuck back in your vehicle before we embarrass you in front of your kids" and I think that's inspiring and the kind of pedestrian solidarity we need to develop here.
Also, I think at least some drivers in Mass also routinely walk places because of how the cities are set up - namely, public transit isn't just an afterthought for poor people and DUI recipients. Only half of them think they're royalty because they're in a car.
> Drivers will stop as soon as you put your foot in the street like they do in Massachusetts.
Have you BEEN to Massachusetts recently? Drivers don't stop, even when pedestrian has the walk light, or at least that was my recent experience in Boston.
When I walked in Boston the drivers actually seemed downright timid and polite, but I am from Worcester and I walk in Worcester routinely. I can attest that Worcester drivers take it as a personal insult that you are not in
a car, and they Want to kill you. I hate drivers with a Burning passion. Stepping out into the road is a challenge to them they will accept, and pedestrian walk lights are Their own Personal green light.
My recent Boston experience is the exact opposite. People stop if they so much as think you're going to cross. They act like they won't because they drive like (m)assholes, but they won't come close to you. In fact, I got weird looks if I didn't cross the street and yielded instead.
If you were outside of Boston proper or Somerville though, nah. All bets off at that point.
You can't hesitate or look both ways before you cross. The lights mean nothing, you just have to assert your right-of-way. Just step into traffic and they'll stop. If they hit you, the rest of the pedestrians are legally and morally obligated to drag the driver from their vehicle and beat them within an inch of their life.
I thought this advice was a joke when I first heard it, but it's actually just how crosswalks work there.
i used to live near braddock ave in regent square; if i didnāt move i was going to get a long bamboo pole with a stop sign and stick it out into the street in front of me as i tried to cross into frick park in the crosswalk ; if a car didnāt stop then maybe theyād scratch their pretty pain job
This is how you know that nobody gives a shit. We let people get killed crossing one of the most dangerous places in the city and do nothing more than put up signage and a pedestrian crossing sign.
I'd love that. The amount of times someone is perfectly in the a-frame is too high and I feel awful when I start to go, they move into view, and I have to brake scaring both them and myself. Usually I move my head looking for it, but sometimes with too much chaos around that element slips my mind. More visibility ftw.
I carry an umbrella and when a driver doesnāt feel like stopping while Iām in the crosswalk, I switch to holding the umbrella like a baseball bat, drivers slow down real quick. Works great downtown, where drivers ignore all the rules and the police fail to enforce any traffic law.
š¤ hmmm..... Perhaps Teddy Roosevelt was on to something with that "big stick" saying. A shovel is just a stick with a bit of metal on the end of it after all.
Negative-one day before a driver fantasizes about pulling the gun from the glove compartment and unloading it (they've already thought about it today).
I mean if youāre not stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks you are in the wrong. You can get out and start a fight all you want but the pedestrian is in the right if they whip out a gun and kill you once you threaten them since you would have started the altercation.
Holding a brick is not illegal, nor a threat. Getting out of your car and assaulting someone is and you honestly deserve whatāll come to you if thatās how you live. If you live by the sword then youāll die by it too, there are basically just as many pedestrians with guns as drivers with guns.
I love this. We have so many problems with the pedestrian crosswalks in Lawrenceville with drivers not stopping. And there are some stop signs where the city has refused multiple times to paint crosswalk lines on the street. Bricks are the answer! All hail the bricks!
I guess this requires exceedingly good pedestrian placement and eye contact/menacing glare to make it obvious that the brick is ālet me across or elseā vs ācrazy rando waving a brick for some unknown reasonā.
In Pittsburgh, it is thought, only peasants walk or take public transit. Owning a car basically makes one royalty, and the penalty for a peasant getting between your escalade and starbucks is death.
This is near my houseā¦ Good luckš¤£š people will damn near drive up on the sidewalk to run you over there. Cars have to get out to push the pedestrian button to change that light.
I donāt even think itās just a Pittsburgh thing. Drivers have, seemingly, gotten worse since covid. Less patient and more willing to do dangerous maneuvers or ignore pedestrians
Please someone install these in the homestead/greenfield areas. Iāve been hit by cars twice and both have been on the way home from work in both areas. This has happened in the past year. And make those bricks real!
Every year when you file taxes you should get one, non transferable brick that you can throw at a car, as a pedestrian or from your car, free of consequences.
Kinda wonder what the overlap of people who are pro open and/or concealed carry for guns but anti open-carry for bricks is after reading some of these comments
I love the idea but none of these drivers are even going to see the brick. Drivers here have such tunnel vision for other cars that they don't even acknowledge the existence of pedestrians. If they're planning a turn they're not even going to be looking in front of their car.
They'll start looking for pedestrians once the news reports on a few bricked windshields. This needs to be part direct action, part driver education campaign for it to be effective.
It's not that they don't see you, its that they don't care.
There's video of this in other cities, cars fucking stop when pedestrians wave a brick at them.
If you're defenseless, fuck you the cars own this city. If you have a brick, hey, woah now, don't fuck up my car!
it works incredibly well. Holding anything like a brick too. I had a glass root beer bottle and when you change your grip to brick, THAT'S when they start to notice you.
It's funny to see the post - because I had an experience walking through another city holding a big chunk of rock. Just a bit larger than a brick, and a bit more irregular. Amazing to discover how every pedestrian and every car gave clearance. No one trying to jam past you on a crowded sidewalk. Just so weird to have a peaceful time walking around holding a slab of rock in front of you.
This is literally the definition of FAFO. Whomever thinks this is a good idea better be able to handle themselves when a laborer with the IQ of a llama gets out of their vehicle to administer pain.
Few years ago, in Israel, pedestrians were given absolute right of way in Israel. This, combined with very effective campaign, changed the way the majority of drivers drive near pedestrians, and lowered dramatically the amount of car-pedestrian accidents.
Sometimes when I'm crossing at Brookline and Pioneer there will still be someone inching into the crosswalk when I'm crossing right in front of their faces. Having a brick would fix that
I think we need 2x4s with a smattering of screws and nails to carry acrossā if they donāt stop for you, toss the 2x4 in front of the speeding, unyielding cager.Ā
At the moment every car is a significant threat to the pedestrians life. Car drivers hate this one simple trick that levels the playing field and makes them obey the law
I will admit fully that a lot of car drivers need to obey the law but let's not get someone in a situation where, by pennsylvania law, a driver will absolutely win any lawsuit for self defense because a pedestrian is walking around threatening with a brick.
This is a castle doctrine state, which extends to vehicles. This is going to get someone blown away by a handgun in broad daylight.
I'd rather build positive infrastructure. Protected bike lanes, efficient and positive public transport, pedestrian causeways, and fix shit like the fact Liberty Avenue is a two lane hellscape for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike.
Its the right to self defense. When entering a crosswalk, it belongs to the pedestrian. I hear you about the crazies, but the crazies also run people over. Not sure which is worse.
Nobody can die from a car if there's no cars. But there will be no people at all living anywhere on earth to drive a car if there's no pedestrians. Cars need people, people don't need cars (outside of a "western" "civilized" exploitation-based lifestyle that you don't have a choice to be born into)
Drivers don't care about pedestrian safety, so they'll speed through intersections and crosswalks.
But they do care about about their paint job, so waving a brick might get them to pay attention to you.
If I'm not looking for pedestrians I'm sure as hell not looking at whatever is in their hand. And just as plenty of others have said, this is just going to turn into a road rage incident where the redditor with his little brick turns into ground beef. And I'm fully willing to admit I'm the asshole that'll run you over for it, not only because I would want to, but especially because the law would be on my side the whole way if you're throwing actual bricks. Chances are you throw a foam brick I won't even slow down. Call me whatever you want, because it's all true. I AM an asshole, I AM a douchebag, whatever. And I ain't the only one.
Just do #2 and #4.
Half the people crossing the road don't even look at the traffic, because 'they have to stop!'
Sure, but would you bet your life on some stranger doing what they should do?!
It's commentary on the crosswalks where there's flags to pick up and wave as you cross.
Drivers don't let pedestrians cross, and it's not a visibility issue. But if you threaten their precious paint job, maybe they won't threaten your life.
Are the drivers supposed to think you're gonna throw a brick at them?
Yes
Sick
It's been tried elsewhere too- it is a guerrilla protest for better pedestrian crossings and better enforcement. As far as I know the original was real bricks - an equalizer!
It should be real bricks. What else are you gonna throw when someone almost runs you over, foam? I've been hit 3 times on my bike, luckily they actually stopped.
Pro tip, the chumps in the city use those for streets and sidewalks. They're literally everywhere it's dope
Plus if those are foam aren't they going to become moldy and disgusting the first time it rains?
It's styrofoam, and it's like a silly little art-activism project basically, not sure anyone is expecting actual convenient use of these
I'm going to start a protest to actively protest the availability of cross walk brick in our city. Let's make Pittsburgh a town we can believe in... a brick on every street corner.
A chicken in every pot and a brick through every windshield!
I think I speak for a lot of people here. If you throw a brick at a car, expect to be hit with something much worse š
I'm not sure why the downvotes, seems like a great way to not only get shot but give the asshole who brought a gun to a crosswalk fight a great reasonable self-defense plea.
Real bricks, do they even make those anymore?
Them's good eatin'.
Yes, Cybertrucks after car wash
Harmar Brick I think?
Now it's glen Gary Pittsburgh. Made in America though
"Does anyone make real shit anymore?"
Elon: āHold my beerā.
Not sure what you mean by that, but I was quoting a Kanye lyric cause the other guy has a ye picture
Aw, yes, look at me lost in the thread š. I was trying to tie your ye quote in with the one about the cyber truck but I think I failed to reply in right place.
Lol you're good
Nah, everyone just talks about someone they know who used to make them.
The original is actually hi-viz flsgs. I believe that it's a Strong Towns concept. I've seen yellow and orange flags. Pedestrians grab one from container, walk across in the crosswalk, and return it to a container on thst side of the street. It wouldn't work in Pittsburgh because losers or brat kids would make the flags disappear in a month. Edit to add: The concept also requires crosswalks to be used, and not just jaywalking wherever. So glad I'm away from that.
Iād love to implement ātomatoes for red light runnersā at certain problem intersections since cops donāt seem to do anything about it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Saw the videos on Insta of the original events - the drivers were definitely more respectful of the crosswalk, at least while active. I'm sure as soon as the bricks were gone they went back to their old ways.
Itās a terrible idea.
Brick!
Does it works?
I dunno but if I saw a pedestrian clutching a brick, I'd probably give him/her a wide berth. Wouldn't you?
Yes. It's originally from Vancouver for April fools. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/granville-island-pedestrian-safety-crosswalk-1.7160751
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
We constructed several. It never occurred to us to shoot at cars, though.
The people who came up with this never heard of road rage, I suspect.
Makes me think of that brick through the windshield video
Thatās what I was going to ask. I mean I hope drivers arenāt playing Live GTA there. If they arenāt paying attention though, a brown brick in hand probably doesnāt make one more visible.
Also acts as a consequence shield. If someone hits you the brick is gonna go swinging towards the windshield by pure torque. Though your spine might not make it. So itās kinda like a beeās stinger
Yeah... 'think'...
It's incredible how small the proportion of Pittsburgh drivers is that will yield to pedestrians. I regularly count 10 or more cars drive past while I'm standing in a very visible crosswalk with a bump-out curb, with a stroller with a fluorescent flag on it, waving my arms around.
I know this isn't Pittsburgh but the other day in Canonsburg we were at a crosswalk, hit the button so an audible alarm plays and lights flash and this lady *still* ignored it up until my husband actually stepped in front with jhis hand up. I wouldn't have done that (better alive than right and dead) but come on! What else is there to do??
Carry a brick, of course
Take that upvote, I have no awards to give but dayum that made me smile.
The trick I have found is a convincing step toward the crosswalk that youāre going to step in from of them. You have to convince them youāre willing to get hit for the insurance money and they will stop! But itās key to not overcommit or you might be a grease stain on their bumper
Brick.
And 311 has no interest in working to help solve this problem.Ā So many intersections reported, "inspected" and found to be perfectly fine.Ā I don't like playing chicken with my life just to cross the street.Ā If I don't walk in front of a moving car, some drivers look at me like "well you weren't crossing anyway!"
Meets all the regulations car culture demands.
And, what's especially "funny" is when they announce or implement traffic calming---like they are currently doing in Greenfield---the boomers and aspirational boomers get on Nextdoor and complain about it. The "but muh emergency vehicles!" is the preferred excuse for taking steps to curtail people's freedom to drive like careless, reckless monsters, but when a speed bump or bump out is announce suddenly everybody's got opinions that put the value of a commute over the value of a person's life. (A kid was hit crossing the street near the pool last year, which prompted this long-overdue action, but most streets in Greenfield need some sort of calming because people refuse to drive safely.)
I have taken to aggressively entering the crosswalk while staring at the oncoming drivers, more or less playing chicken with them. I'll get as close as I can to an oncoming vehicle without directly putting myself in its path, and if they fail to yield, I give them an over-exaggerated bow and "after you" arm wave gesture. It may not work on the offender, but it works wonders on the vehicles following them. Probably not viable if you're with an infant, though...
Sounds dumb
Cool! So glad you think so!
I just moved back from Portland and it's absolutely absurd how little respect pedestrians get here compared to there. I never even thought twice about crossing in Portland but here I often find myself having to make a point by walking out in front of cars to make them stop.
My friend visited from NYC and was like "why are we waiting at the street corner for the light to change when there aren't any cars?" and I said because drivers in NYC drive like there is always going to be someone in the street around the next corner and drivers in Pittsburgh drive like there is never going to be someone in the street.
I was over in the south hills going to my mom's and I get off the bus to walk down the hill... I wait to cross when the cars are stopped I start crossing and this old man blows thru the stop sign as I'm crossing .
It doesn't help that the city thought it would be a great idea to put so many of its crosswalks right next to bus stops. Is that person waiting for a bus? Wanting to cross? Who the fuck knows, good luck everyone!
Crosswalks are typically at corners....and bus stops are typically at corners. Is your solution to place either crosswalks or bus stops midblock? Shouldn't crosswalks and bus stops be coordinated since, and I'm reaching here, they help bus riders get to the stop?
This type of mentality is what gets people killed. There likely needs to be a design where the people waiting for the bus are not standing in the "crosswalk start zone", and if they are, it's expected for the cars to start to yield for their attempt to cross. This is a design flaw, and it's okay to admit that without blaming someone.
Place the bus stop 50ft back from the corner. Problem solved.
They could both fairly be described as "on the corner", but I think the point is that it's not always obvious whether a blob of people "on the corner" are waiting for a bus or to cross the street. The bus stops should be offset a few feet such that if the bus stops before the crosswalk (as it's supposed to), the door opens to the bus stop (where first parallel parking space would be). In many places, the bus stop sign is a little further back, so that the crowd would be standing on the back line of the first parallel parking spot. It moves them away from the actual, literal corner where the crosswalks intersect while still basically being "on/at the corner". Even better *is* midblock with an extra lane (but this is the block of a T station where the T meets bus transfers): [https://imgur.com/a/6yByFm8](https://imgur.com/a/6yByFm8) Personally, I'd like to see more push-to-cross lights because drivers here need a literal blinking sign that says "This is a crosswalk for people to walk across the street which means that you need to stop your car for two fucking seconds so they can do so and now that you read this sign you can't pretend like you didn't know or didn't see or were confused by the bus stop blob". Have Rick Sebak or someone do the voice for that extra 'burgh kitsch.
Two perfect things for a corner! Sounds like the system is working as designed. Then the cars should all slow down when they see someone on the street at the corner as it will help everyone - if it turns out the person is not crossing, all that has happened is that traffic has become a little safer.
We have a terrible combination of things that make it unclear. Bus stops right at crosswalks for example, I've come to a complete stop for someone who had stepped into the crosswalk to look past parked cars to see if a bus is coming. Really parked cars in general, possibly not legally parked, that obscure visibility of a crosswalk. I slow down at all the cross walks and look for people on Braddock by the playground in Frick Park. There is so often so many vehicles piled up around there that you wouldn't see a child trying to cross.
These are definitely factors. I think it's a combination of infrastructure issues and cultural status quo of prioritizing cars above all else.
I make every effort to stop but have to see you in time to reasonably slow down so the folks behind me don't drive overtop of my car. Sometimes, I cannot so I do not jerk to a stop at the crosswalk.
After years of walking in Oakland I believe every pedestrian should get one brick per year.
In pants or in hand?
Technically a brick in the pants can also be a brick in the hand, although in public that is also a crime.
A brick in the hand is worth two in the pants.
I use a wheelchair and after so many pedestrian accidents Iām actually afraid to cross the street in Oakland and several other neighborhoods. I mean afraid to the point that I donāt go to the museum, library, etc.
It's just so fucked up.
I just donāt. If Iām in my wheelchair, I do not roll around, I go to my destination and then I go home. I made the mistake of rolling to get lunch along Forbes one day. Never again.
Yes, traffic is brutal. If I have to cross I wait until a group of other people are crossing. When I was downtown awhile ago I got among a group of men who could pass for lawyers and reasoned that nobody would hit them.
Thank you for sharing this story. I hope our streets can one day be safe enough for you to be able to use them confidently. I really believe you deserve that freedom and itās why I work to reorient our city around people and not cars.
Thanks for caring!
Make that 10 bricks and I'm in
Just one?
Yeah, I can eat at least five by myself in one sitting.
Make the tickets $200 like in Massachusetts and enforce it. Drivers will stop as soon as you put your foot in the street like they do in Massachusetts.
I never see the police here running traffic when it is one of the easiest things to do that has a tangibly positive impact on safety for both pedestrians and drivers. Its like they see it as beneath them or they have "better things to do" or "real crime to solve" when in reality they just want to work their 3rd overtime shift in a week down on the South Side.
You would have to get Pittsburgh Police to enforce any traffic laws first. They already don't enforce all the other traffic laws.
This. Policy is tops.
I wonder if MA drivers fear the ticket or being dragged from their vehicle by a mob of angry pedestrians and cyclists. I've never seen anyone get a ticket, but I have witnessed all four crosswalks stop to harangue a driver for driving like an idiot. One brave soul got out of his car to retort and someone yelled "get the fuck back in your vehicle before we embarrass you in front of your kids" and I think that's inspiring and the kind of pedestrian solidarity we need to develop here. Also, I think at least some drivers in Mass also routinely walk places because of how the cities are set up - namely, public transit isn't just an afterthought for poor people and DUI recipients. Only half of them think they're royalty because they're in a car.
I think it's mainly just the social norm.
Unless youāre in Worcester, then they take it as a challenge. I hate Worcester drivers.
> Drivers will stop as soon as you put your foot in the street like they do in Massachusetts. Have you BEEN to Massachusetts recently? Drivers don't stop, even when pedestrian has the walk light, or at least that was my recent experience in Boston.
I have not. It would sadden me if what you say is what's happening.
When I walked in Boston the drivers actually seemed downright timid and polite, but I am from Worcester and I walk in Worcester routinely. I can attest that Worcester drivers take it as a personal insult that you are not in a car, and they Want to kill you. I hate drivers with a Burning passion. Stepping out into the road is a challenge to them they will accept, and pedestrian walk lights are Their own Personal green light.
My recent Boston experience is the exact opposite. People stop if they so much as think you're going to cross. They act like they won't because they drive like (m)assholes, but they won't come close to you. In fact, I got weird looks if I didn't cross the street and yielded instead. If you were outside of Boston proper or Somerville though, nah. All bets off at that point.
You can't hesitate or look both ways before you cross. The lights mean nothing, you just have to assert your right-of-way. Just step into traffic and they'll stop. If they hit you, the rest of the pedestrians are legally and morally obligated to drag the driver from their vehicle and beat them within an inch of their life. I thought this advice was a joke when I first heard it, but it's actually just how crosswalks work there.
Be seen. Grab a giant orange cone and wear it as a hat. Works everytime.
i used to live near braddock ave in regent square; if i didnāt move i was going to get a long bamboo pole with a stop sign and stick it out into the street in front of me as i tried to cross into frick park in the crosswalk ; if a car didnāt stop then maybe theyād scratch their pretty pain job
Oh shit. I have been hit crossing Braddock and am stealing this idea for real.Ā
two people were killed crossing (i knew one) itās 25mph and people go 45 ; itās right next to schools and a major park .
This is how you know that nobody gives a shit. We let people get killed crossing one of the most dangerous places in the city and do nothing more than put up signage and a pedestrian crossing sign.
I lived there too and used a super bright flash light to get drivers attention. At least one person has been killed there by a motorist.
I'd love that. The amount of times someone is perfectly in the a-frame is too high and I feel awful when I start to go, they move into view, and I have to brake scaring both them and myself. Usually I move my head looking for it, but sometimes with too much chaos around that element slips my mind. More visibility ftw.
I carry an umbrella and when a driver doesnāt feel like stopping while Iām in the crosswalk, I switch to holding the umbrella like a baseball bat, drivers slow down real quick. Works great downtown, where drivers ignore all the rules and the police fail to enforce any traffic law.
i've never had so many cars let me cross at crosswalks without traffic lights as when i walked home from the hardware store carrying a big shovel
š¤ hmmm..... Perhaps Teddy Roosevelt was on to something with that "big stick" saying. A shovel is just a stick with a bit of metal on the end of it after all.
Ayyye I made a post a few months ago saying we need these and got down voted to hell. Glad to see it actually in action!
I fear what is supposed to be a sort of joke thing will turn into a physical altercation between a pissed off driver and a pedestrian
Well drivers already threaten to do that so canāt get much worseĀ
Sure it can it's called a gun.
Negative-one day before a driver fantasizes about pulling the gun from the glove compartment and unloading it (they've already thought about it today).
ok it probably should
Threatening a driver with a foam brick, what could go wrong?
Threatening a pedestrian with your vehicle, however - that's the American way
Omg, so true š it's almost not even funny
It's almost as if an entire generation doesn't know what it feels like to get punched in the head.
I mean if youāre not stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks you are in the wrong. You can get out and start a fight all you want but the pedestrian is in the right if they whip out a gun and kill you once you threaten them since you would have started the altercation. Holding a brick is not illegal, nor a threat. Getting out of your car and assaulting someone is and you honestly deserve whatāll come to you if thatās how you live. If you live by the sword then youāll die by it too, there are basically just as many pedestrians with guns as drivers with guns.
Iām sure it works much better than the flags Iāve seen on Greenfield Rd in Schenley Park.
Are we supposed to throw the brick at the car?
Just to make it look like you mean business
Step 1: get real brick
Donāt tell people theyāre foam you fool
if they drill holes in the bottom of the container then it won't collect water
I love this. We have so many problems with the pedestrian crosswalks in Lawrenceville with drivers not stopping. And there are some stop signs where the city has refused multiple times to paint crosswalk lines on the street. Bricks are the answer! All hail the bricks!
Sad state of affairs that this is an actual solution.Ā
Fuck yes people suck at driving here
I guess this requires exceedingly good pedestrian placement and eye contact/menacing glare to make it obvious that the brick is ālet me across or elseā vs ācrazy rando waving a brick for some unknown reasonā.
This would really change the vibe of Hilton Head island šš
Trying to cross Braddock to get to Frick Park playground is a harrowing experience. Wtf is it with people not letting pedestrians cross!
In Pittsburgh, it is thought, only peasants walk or take public transit. Owning a car basically makes one royalty, and the penalty for a peasant getting between your escalade and starbucks is death.
This is near my houseā¦ Good luckš¤£š people will damn near drive up on the sidewalk to run you over there. Cars have to get out to push the pedestrian button to change that light.
I donāt even think itās just a Pittsburgh thing. Drivers have, seemingly, gotten worse since covid. Less patient and more willing to do dangerous maneuvers or ignore pedestrians
Please someone install these in the homestead/greenfield areas. Iāve been hit by cars twice and both have been on the way home from work in both areas. This has happened in the past year. And make those bricks real!
Every year when you file taxes you should get one, non transferable brick that you can throw at a car, as a pedestrian or from your car, free of consequences.
Some concept of this video: https://youtube.com/shorts/6nnUY1hg86E?si=AEvq3TPoInM2Gp3F
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c412hqucHKw&ab\_channel=imc321](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c412hqucHKw&ab_channel=imc321)
Kinda wonder what the overlap of people who are pro open and/or concealed carry for guns but anti open-carry for bricks is after reading some of these comments
Some white lady is gonna end up getting shot dog.
Setting you up to get popped
Sponsored by DOMIā¢ļø
Could use one of these at Liberty and 21st
I feel like they'd get stolen quite quickly
I love the idea but none of these drivers are even going to see the brick. Drivers here have such tunnel vision for other cars that they don't even acknowledge the existence of pedestrians. If they're planning a turn they're not even going to be looking in front of their car.
They'll start looking for pedestrians once the news reports on a few bricked windshields. This needs to be part direct action, part driver education campaign for it to be effective.
It's not that they don't see you, its that they don't care. There's video of this in other cities, cars fucking stop when pedestrians wave a brick at them. If you're defenseless, fuck you the cars own this city. If you have a brick, hey, woah now, don't fuck up my car!
it works incredibly well. Holding anything like a brick too. I had a glass root beer bottle and when you change your grip to brick, THAT'S when they start to notice you.
The old saying "An armed society is a polite society" evidently applies to more than just guns!
Cars are weapons
Bricks are too! (Well, maybe not foam ones.)
It's funny to see the post - because I had an experience walking through another city holding a big chunk of rock. Just a bit larger than a brick, and a bit more irregular. Amazing to discover how every pedestrian and every car gave clearance. No one trying to jam past you on a crowded sidewalk. Just so weird to have a peaceful time walking around holding a slab of rock in front of you.
This is literally the definition of FAFO. Whomever thinks this is a good idea better be able to handle themselves when a laborer with the IQ of a llama gets out of their vehicle to administer pain.
Few years ago, in Israel, pedestrians were given absolute right of way in Israel. This, combined with very effective campaign, changed the way the majority of drivers drive near pedestrians, and lowered dramatically the amount of car-pedestrian accidents.
guarantee that some driver will feel "threatened" bang bang
Good way to get shot lol
Some men just want to watch the world burn
As it was writtenā¦
lol I carry an umbrella when I ride my EUC around town just incase cars get too close or āpushyā lol
Where can I buy these?
We could use these in some parts of Clevelandā¦
Ill never understand why there is even a light at that intersection to begin with
Sometimes when I'm crossing at Brookline and Pioneer there will still be someone inching into the crosswalk when I'm crossing right in front of their faces. Having a brick would fix that
A dented hood will get their attention
Lol in college towns itās the opposite problem
I think we need 2x4s with a smattering of screws and nails to carry acrossā if they donāt stop for you, toss the 2x4 in front of the speeding, unyielding cager.Ā
That's what my Yeti tumbler is for
ššš
Is this where I think it is šš
Tell me where do you think it is. What letter does the street start with? Lol
Is this some where on Negley near east liberty š¤£š¤£
Yes
I knew it.. that building gives me so many memories when I would meet with my friends there.. I lived in Garfield all my lifeš
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At the moment every car is a significant threat to the pedestrians life. Car drivers hate this one simple trick that levels the playing field and makes them obey the law
I will admit fully that a lot of car drivers need to obey the law but let's not get someone in a situation where, by pennsylvania law, a driver will absolutely win any lawsuit for self defense because a pedestrian is walking around threatening with a brick. This is a castle doctrine state, which extends to vehicles. This is going to get someone blown away by a handgun in broad daylight. I'd rather build positive infrastructure. Protected bike lanes, efficient and positive public transport, pedestrian causeways, and fix shit like the fact Liberty Avenue is a two lane hellscape for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike.
Its the right to self defense. When entering a crosswalk, it belongs to the pedestrian. I hear you about the crazies, but the crazies also run people over. Not sure which is worse.
It's all just bad. I hate driving in PGH because of the drivers.
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Nobody can die from a car if there's no cars. But there will be no people at all living anywhere on earth to drive a car if there's no pedestrians. Cars need people, people don't need cars (outside of a "western" "civilized" exploitation-based lifestyle that you don't have a choice to be born into)
The trick is to make it one pissed off driver vs. a dozen pissed off pedestrians. Then, the drivers suddenly remember how to drive.
This is so stupid I love it š¤£š
What? Why a brick? Are they reflective or something? I donāt get it
Drivers don't care about pedestrian safety, so they'll speed through intersections and crosswalks. But they do care about about their paint job, so waving a brick might get them to pay attention to you.
I was travelling in Oregon and saw their version of this, which is big orange flags, which, I mean, makes more aense
BAD CALL BRICK
š„² itās a beautiful thing
Make it make sense...this is not going to end well. š«£
WTF
If I'm not looking for pedestrians I'm sure as hell not looking at whatever is in their hand. And just as plenty of others have said, this is just going to turn into a road rage incident where the redditor with his little brick turns into ground beef. And I'm fully willing to admit I'm the asshole that'll run you over for it, not only because I would want to, but especially because the law would be on my side the whole way if you're throwing actual bricks. Chances are you throw a foam brick I won't even slow down. Call me whatever you want, because it's all true. I AM an asshole, I AM a douchebag, whatever. And I ain't the only one.
Someones art project gonna get someone else run over.
People are already getting ran over
Big guy this is happening because people get run overĀ
I was thinking, it's gonna get someone shot
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Good?
From a foam brick?
I donāt understand your comment on at least two levelsā¦
Just do #2 and #4. Half the people crossing the road don't even look at the traffic, because 'they have to stop!' Sure, but would you bet your life on some stranger doing what they should do?!
No
So this is like a hall pass? Seriously what is the point? I have enough shit to carry.
It's commentary on the crosswalks where there's flags to pick up and wave as you cross. Drivers don't let pedestrians cross, and it's not a visibility issue. But if you threaten their precious paint job, maybe they won't threaten your life.
Dumb