Museum of Possibilities
Public polling device
Wait music do not cross
Traffic lights follow a universal code: everywhere in the world, we move on green and stop on red. Their widespread adoption was also the first indicator that cities would become ruled by cars. Knock Stop is a prototype for alternative traffic lights, inviting pedestrians to take over the street through music.
Prototype Created in 2015
San Francisco, US
Created during the Market Street Prototyping Festival in San Francisco, this project was part of a wider conversation about how the city could work if a major street was closed to traffic and reserved for pedestrians.
Interrupting our routine while we’re waiting to cross the street, Knock Stop invites us to imagine this fantastical city where we live without cars.
Installed on opposite sidewalks, the Knock Stop traffic lights activate when you knock on them like on a door. Through this simple gesture, people create music and light rhythms and can communicate with each other through the traffic.
Because the other side of the street might as well be the other side of the world.
To build your own Knock Stop prototype and transform the street with our alternative traffic lights, step by step instructions can be found on Instructables.com