Late last week I stumbled across an odd design painted into the middle of the intersection where Georgia and Kansas Avenues NW come together. Looking like a waffle iron, the pattern was slowly starting to occupy the entirety of the diamond-shaped intersection. Like the Prince of Petworth, I thought to myself, “What the Helen of Troy is this?” OK, those weren’t the exact words I used, but still.

D.C. Department of Transportation John Lisle informed me this morning that the new pattern is being used on two intersections along Georgia Avenue—Kansas and New Hampshire Avenues—as part of the Georgia Avenue Great Streets Project. Lisle said the design is both aesthetic and practical: it’s supposed to serve as a much more visible reminder to drivers that there’s a crosswalk for pedestrians and that they shouldn’t block the box.

It’s certainly an interesting concept, and one that has only really been tried in one other place in D.C.: on 14th and S Streets NW, where a similar pattern was used in place of the regular striped crosswalk. The thinking is that the more intricate designs catch drivers’ eyes, making them more likely to stop for pedestrians.