What is Daylighting? (And How This Intersection Adjustment Saves So Many Lives!)

Entertainment
Published on Jun 6, 2024
I have been making Streetfilms about Daylighting for over 15 years. Around that time period Streefilms put together the first film ever on the topic: 2010's "Daylighting: Make Your Crosswalks Safer" (https://vimeo.com/12796910) featuring a number of prominent New Yorkers on the topic.

I have always tried to work in daylighting into everything I can. It just makes sense to not have cars parked all the way up to crosswalks (or in some cases right up until the intersection!). By eliminating cars being parked from the first 10 to 15 feet (in some places they use 20!) you create a safer environment for drivers to not only see peds & bicyclists but OTHER drivers.

During a meeting after I had assembled together a blog post for Open Plans on some of the work I had done over the years (https://www.openplans.org/blog/streetfilms-daylighting) we talked about coming up with a new version for 2024. And so the idea was born and we got a dozen folks to talk to us about daylighting and the really cool movement from NYC Community Boards now passing resolutions asking the Mayor & NYC DOT for #universaldaylighting!

Oh, and this video features prominently Emily Chingay who really made this video come alive with her enthusiasm and great script she penned! Enjoy and please circulate and use it wherever you can. Though it is NYC based, it provides a model for other cities & communities to make daylighting happen.