{{short description|Curb extension caused by snowfall}}
thumb|A sneckdown on a corner in Allston, Massachusetts, United States [[File:Sneckdown in Sofia, 2017-01-19 - highlight.jpg|thumb|Sneckdown showing a triangle of less used road space on a T-intersection in Sofia, Bulgaria]]
A '''sneckdown''' (or '''snowy neckdown''') is a buildup of snow on a road that has not been flattened and cleared by traffic, particularly at an intersection. Because it marks where traffic does not go, a sneckdown may reveal where traffic calming measures such as curb extensions or narrower lanes might be safely implemented.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 March 2025 |title=What snow can teach us about street design |url=https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0kx9vx8/what-snow-can-teach-us-about-street-design |access-date= |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB|last=Roberts|first=Cagney|first2=Darryl|last2=Laiu}}</ref>
== History == The term "sneckdown" was coined by Streetsblog founder Aaron Naparstek in 2014,<ref>{{cite web |title=Aaron Naparstek |url=https://twitter.com/naparstek/status/418959862354038784 |url-status= |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250316002404/https://x.com/naparstek/status/418959862354038784 |archive-date=16 March 2025 |work=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2014/02/natural-traffic-control|title=Natural traffic control|date=13 February 2014|newspaper=The Economist|last=|first=}}</ref> popularized by Streetfilms director Clarence Eckerson, Jr. and spread widely via social media.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.streetfilms.org/the-complete-origin-of-the-sneckdown/|title=Streetfilms - The Complete Origin of the #Sneckdown|publisher=}}</ref> Other Twitter hashtags that have been used to describe snow-based traffic-calming measures include #plowza, #slushdown, #snovered and #snowspace.<ref name="nyim">{{Cite web|author=Ogorodnikov|date=29 January 2016|title=Sneckdowns: Using Snow Pileup to Design Better Streets - New York YIMBY|url=https://newyorkyimby.com/2016/01/sneckdowns-using-snow-pileup-to-design-better-streets.html|access-date=4 February 2022|work=New York YIMBY|first=Vitali}}</ref>
The practice of using snow to trace the behavior of vehicles, pedestrians, and playing children was already described in Camillo Sitte's 1889 urban design treatise ''The Art of Building Cities''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sitte |first=Camillo |title=Der Städtebau Nach Seinen Künstlerischen Grundsätzen |publisher=Graeser |year=1901 |location=Vienna |trans-title=City planning according to artistic principles}}</ref>
In the 1980s, some planners in Australia distributed cake flour in intersections to observe patterns of vehicle movement hours later.<ref name="nyim"/>
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States at Baltimore and 48th Street, a sneckdown-inspired permanent upgrade to the pedestrian environment was made in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/02/11/can-snow-inspire-better-streets-it-already-has/|title=Can Snow Inspire Better Streets? It Already Has|date=11 February 2014 |publisher=Streetsblog USA|last=Schmitt|first=Angie}}</ref>
==See also== * Desire path * Tactical urbanism
==References== {{commons category|Sneckdowns}} {{Reflist}}
== External links == {{External links|date=January 2026}} * Undriven Snow [https://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2014/02/natural-traffic-control The Economist] * Sneckdown: Using Snow to Design Safer Streets [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25788068 BBC] * What the Heck is a Sneckdown? [http://www.treehugger.com/urban-design/what-heck-sneckdown.html Treehugger] * 2014's Endless Snow Has at Least Been Good for Transportation Nerds [http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2014/02/2014s-endless-snow-has-least-been-good-transportation-nerds/8352 Atlantic Cities] * "Sneckdowns" Reveal the Street Space Cars Don't Use [http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/21309/sneckdowns-reveal-the-street-space-cars-dont-use Greater Greater Washington] * Sneckdowns: How snowstorms can teach us to build smarter roads [http://theweek.com/article/index/256456/sneckdowns-how-snowstorms-can-teach-us-to-build-smarter-roads The Week] * The 'sneckdown': Nature's pedestrian island [http://video.pix11.com/The-sneckdown-Natures-pedestrian-island--25624751#.UwK3zCjelC8 WPIX11 News NYC]
Category:Traffic calming Category:Snow