--- title: Texting Lane on Staircase at Utah Valley University description: A staircase at Utah Valley University now has a texting lane. canonical: https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-16T20:51:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:47:23.837Z og:title: Check Out This University's Special Staircase for People Texting og:description: A staircase at Utah Valley University now has a texting lane. og:url: https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba38b525dd13d55a/698854ca428a9e4c0accdbe8/image2a.jpeg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: image2a og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Check Out This University's Special Staircase for People Texting twitter:description: A staircase at Utah Valley University now has a texting lane. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba38b525dd13d55a/698854ca428a9e4c0accdbe8/image2a.jpeg?branch=production&width=1080&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Check Out This University's Special Staircase for People Texting ## Video: School Removes Wrecking Ball After Students Imitate Miley [Watch (HLS stream): School Removes Wrecking Ball After Students Imitate Miley](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EpIu9Exp.m3u8) (0:28)  _Published 2013-09-18. Grand Valley State University have decided to remove the school's landmark pendulum for safety reasons, but students are protesting the act_  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 16, 2015 8:51 PM UTC  Utah Valley University Marketing & Communications  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jun 16, 2015 8:51 PM UTC Utah’s largest public university is attempting to teach students to watch where they’re going by designating a special lane for people who text while walking up stairs. Since June 7, a staircase at Utah Valley University’s new student center building in Orem has boasted a “texting lane,” though the school’s creative director Matt Bambrough acknowledges it is meant to be an art project, as opposed to an official school policy. In a statement, he even admits, “Most people don’t obey the posted lanes.” Past parodies of distracted pedestrians have [included](http://www.fastcompany.com/3035757/slicker-city/texting-while-walking-in-china-theres-a-lane-for-that) a street lane in Chongqing, China, for texting tourists and Improv Everywhere’s [stunt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNyTqIsrk0w) in which pranksters dressed up as “Seeing Eye People” who guided New Yorkers glued to their phones. ### PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today  1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I. Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images  1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point'). Keystone/Holton/Getty Images  1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London. Kypros/Getty Images  1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work. Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5\. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith. Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images  1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25. Mark Lennihan—AP  1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. India Today Group/Getty Images  2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11. Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images  2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo. Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images  2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images  2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones. Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/"},"headline":"Check Out This University's Special Staircase for People Texting","datePublished":"2015-06-16T20:51:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:23.837Z","description":"This is your fault","url":"https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/","keywords":["Newsfeed","society"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba38b525dd13d55a/698854ca428a9e4c0accdbe8/image2a.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba38b525dd13d55a/698854ca428a9e4c0accdbe8/image2a.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"image2a","caption":"","creditText":"Utah Valley University Marketing & Communications","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/","name":"Check Out This University's Special Staircase for People Texting"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"School Removes Wrecking Ball After Students Imitate Miley","description":"Grand Valley State University have decided to remove the school's landmark pendulum for safety reasons, but students are protesting the act","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EpIu9Exp/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-09-18T14:38:56.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EpIu9Exp.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/","duration":"PT28S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3923481/university-texting-lane/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```