Left hand makes the 'L'

The City of New York is experimenting with a series of directional guides pasted onto the sidewalk at the exits of highly trafficked subway stations. They point in the four major directions (North et al), and also display nearby street names. The guides are meant to help orient people as they transition from the regimented tubes of the subway to the pedestrian free-for-all of the topside. Less confusion, less getting lost? Good idea. Two problems.

1. These are essentially decals stuck onto the sidewalk. People will walk on them. People will graffiti them. People will urinate on them. The compasses will quickly become disgusting to look at or spend time near, and the city will take way too long to replace them when they do. Another sight gone blight.

2. The compasses are located at the tops of the stairs to the subway system, where bottleneck problems already exist as large crowds of traingoers try to merge into the large crowds of sidewalkers. Forcing people to stop and stare at the ground at the top of the stairs will exponentially exacerbate this problem, backing crowds up into the subway stations and further slowing the already trudging process of getting from A to B in New York City.

The third problem is that I like being asked for directions because it lets me show off how smart I am, and I don't like being outsmarted by a sticker.