Sneckdown

A sneckdown (or snowy neckdown) is a buildup of snow on a road that has not been flattened and cleared by traffic, particularly at an intersection. Because it marks where traffic does not go, a sneckdown may reveal where traffic calming measures such as curb extensions or narrower lanes might be safely implemented.[1]

History

The term "sneckdown" was coined by Streetsblog founder Aaron Naparstek in 2014,[2][3] popularized by Streetfilms director Clarence Eckerson, Jr. and spread widely via social media.[4] Other Twitter hashtags that have been used to describe snow-based traffic-calming measures include #plowza, #slushdown, #snovered and #snowspace.[5]

The practice of using snow to trace the behavior of vehicles, pedestrians, and playing children was already described in Camillo Sitte's 1889 urban design treatise The Art of Building Cities.[6]

In the 1980s, some planners in Australia distributed cake flour in intersections to observe patterns of vehicle movement hours later.[5]

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States at Baltimore and 48th Street, a sneckdown-inspired permanent upgrade to the pedestrian environment was made in 2011.[7]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sneckdowns.
  1. ^ Roberts, Cagney; Laiu, Darryl (13 March 2025). "What snow can teach us about street design". www.bbc.com.
  2. ^ "Aaron Naparstek". Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ "Natural traffic control". The Economist. 13 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Streetfilms - The Complete Origin of the #Sneckdown".
  5. ^ a b Ogorodnikov, Vitali (29 January 2016). "Sneckdowns: Using Snow Pileup to Design Better Streets - New York YIMBY". New York YIMBY. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  6. ^ Sitte, Camillo (1901). Der Städtebau Nach Seinen Künstlerischen Grundsätzen [City planning according to artistic principles]. Vienna: Graeser.
  7. ^ Schmitt, Angie (11 February 2014). "Can Snow Inspire Better Streets? It Already Has". Streetsblog USA.
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