Sneckdown

An example of sneckdowns and plowzas on a snow day in New York City.

A sneckdown^[1] or snowy neckdown^[2] is effectively a curb extension caused by snowfall. A natural form of traffic calming, sneckdowns show where a street can potentially be narrowed to slow motor vehicle speeds and shorten pedestrian crossing distances. Coined by Streetsblog Founder Aaron Naparstek,^[3] popularized by Streetfilms Director Clarence Eckerson, Jr. and spread widely via social media,^[4] the term first appeared on Twitter on January 2, 2014 at 11:19pm EST.^[5] Other Twitter hashtags that have been used to describe snow-based traffic-calming measures include #plowza #slushdown #snovered and #snowspace.

Benefits

• Shortens pedestrian crossing time
• Highlights unused road space
• Calms vehicle traffic
• Allows planners and road engineers to clearly see possible modifications to road structures
• Encourages slower vehicle speeds, increasing safety for all road users including pedestrians

Examples

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Baltimore and 48th Street, 2011: A sneckdown inspired permanent upgrades to the pedestrian environment at this intersection.

In the 1980s, some planners in Australia distributed cake flour in intersections to observe patterns of vehicle movement hours later.

Media Coverage

• Undriven Snow The Economist
• Sneckdown: Using Snow to Design Safer Streets BBC
• What the Heck is a Sneckdown? Treehugger
• 2014's Endless Snow Has at Least Been Good for Transportation Nerds Atlantic Cities
• "Sneckdowns" Reveal the Street Space Cars Don't Use Greater Greater Washington
• Sneckdowns: How snowstorms can teach us to build smarter roads The Week
• The 'sneckdown': Nature's pedestrian island WPIX11 News NYC

References