At some point during my travels, I seem to have become fascinated by pedestrian crossing lights and have started to “collect” them, well photograph them, at any rate. These are things that most people probably walk by without giving too much of a second glance to, but now I actively seek them out.
I think that I can pinpoint the first time I saw a light that wasn’t the traditional “green man,” and that was in June 2017 in Vienna, Austria, where they had a rather cute couple holding hands while crossing the road with a heart between them. And it just snowballed from there.
Been there, bought the t-shirt
It was in Berlin where I got a fascination with the figures used on pedestrian crossing lights and end up taking pictures of them. It turned out that I wasn’t alone as “Ampelmann” (literally little traffic light man) has a cult following with shops selling all manner of things with his design and formed in his shape. It seems to have been one of the few things that have been retained from East Germany with its reputation intact. And, yes, I really did buy a tee shirt with Ampelmann on it!
On a recent trip to London, specifically around Trafalgar Square, I noticed that the traditional green man had been replaced by Pride symbols. These were what some might describe as woke crossing lights, and I wasn’t disappointed when I did a quick search to find that they had enraged Laurence Fox, which is always a good thing.
Crossing the Road with Dave
All of this reminded me of growing up in the ’70s with Dave Prowse as the Green Cross Code Man helping children safely navigate the roads. Watch one of his ads below, courtesy of The National Archives, and you’ll hear why he was only the body of Darth Vader and not the voice!
The Green Man Collection
Below is a selection of green men that I have collected during our travels. You’ll no doubt note that all of the “go” lights are green with the exception of those in the US which, because they need to be different, are white and are accompanied by an aggressive voice that barks “WALK!” at you too.
Enjoy, and next time you are travelling, look up and see whether your crossing light is more interesting than a green man.
