Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OREM — A lane for texting while walking has opened on a stairway in the Student Life and Wellness Center at Utah Valley University in Orem.
The stairway is divided into three lanes: running, walking and texting. It was created because students glued to their smartphones are “bound to run into someone somewhere,” said Matt Bambrough, UVU’s creative director who came up with the idea of dividing the stairway into lanes.
“The design was meant for people to laugh at rather than a real attempt to direct traffic flow,” Bambrough said.
The center opened last spring for the University’s 31,000 students to recreate and workout. UVU’s marketing and communications department was tasked with enhancing the center’s design through the use of art and graphics throughout the center.
“This graphic is obviously more aesthetic than functional, and though we’ve noticed that most texters aren’t actually following the posted lanes, they are enjoying walking to their workout space,” Bambrough said.
Public Relations Director Melinda Colton said the photo of the texting lane on the stairway has received lots of positive feedback.
“The viral photo began as a single social media post and from there was covered by numerous digital outlets,” Colton said. “Now the photo has appeared throughout the country and even internationally. What started out as a creative way to enhance a building has now caught the attention of people worldwide.”
Contributing: Keith McCord
Spencer Ricks is a KSL.com news writing intern and student at Dixie State University from Snoqualmie, Washington. Contact him at newsintern@deseretdigital.com.
