Why do some Philadelphia crosswalks have little men painted in them?

Question

I was recently in Philadelphia and noticed that some of the crosswalks had what appeared to be little men painted on them. What do these signify?

Answer 1

East coast city drivers in general do not have the same kind respect for crosswalks that they have on the west coast or even in the mid-west. Those little people painted there respresent pedestrians who have been run over and smushed because they made the mistake of expecting cars to stop when they set out to cross the street. They serve as a reminder to other unwary walkers to act like Jack - that is, be nimble and be quick!

Actually, they are really just an indication that you are supposed to cross in the cross walk. There have been a lot of pedestrians killed trying to jay walk across the Roosevelt Boulevard so the city is trying to raise awareness of pedestrian safety.

I looked for the cite but after a couple of seconds of searching (after which I got bored), I could not find the USAToday article about it, but every year, two Roosevelt Boulevard intersections (Grant Avenue and Red Lion Road) are identified there as being among the top ten most dangerous intersections in the country.

Answer 2

oh my gosh! I was wondering the same thing when I saw those too! I was wondering if they represented places where people had been hurt from an accident, but that didn't seem to a be a very good reason for them to be there. So I'm not really sure. I guess it's just telling you that this is where you are supposed to walk, even though there are already the lines painted on the street for that.

Answer 3

Its probably some sort of logic symbol which is supposed to communicate to people that this is where they should cross the street.

I'm wondering if the painting represents the person before or after the hit and run.

Answer 4

the little man walking is the international visual picture of pedestrian crosswalk

Answer 5

I think to give you the hint to: walk here.....