UVU 'texting' lane photo goes viral

Photo of testing lane goes viral

OREM, UT — Pictures of stairwells at Utah Valley University have gone viral and are getting nationwide press coverage.

The one stairwell shows a lane for texting while walking.  The other gives calories used by walking the stairs.

The stairwells are part of the new Student Life and Wellness Center at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

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.

Before the recreation center opened last spring, 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.”

UVU with over 34,000 students is Utah's largest public university.

• Today Show*: Texters, move over! University adds a ‘texting lane’ to staircase
• US News & World Report*: Utah school creates ‘texting lane’ for phone-focused walkers
• Time*: Check out this university’s special staircase for people texting
• New York Times*: Utah university adds texting and walking lane to its stairs
• USA Today: Utah Valley University installs texting lane for busy students
• Huffington Post: Utah Valley University designs 'texting lane' for students
• KSL.com*: Texting lane at UVU goes viral

Walking stairs at UVU burns calories