Maria, 16, Dublin

Inspired to help out during this difficult time, Maria from Dublin came up with a brilliant idea to help with public safety at pedestrian crossings.

Maria noticed that whilst people are trying to maintain good hygiene and halt the spread of the virus, crossing the street at traffic lights, particularly in urban areas, can cause problems.

Crossing the street at a pedestrian crossing, a person must signal the green light by pressing a button with their finger. This button will be pressed by lots of people throughout the day, so its possible that traces of germs will be left on the button and transferred from person to person.

In order to prevent this, Maria came up with the idea of placing the button on the ground instead, so that the pedestrian would activate it with their foot instead. This would eliminate the need for touching the button with your hand, thus reducing the danger of germs being transferred from person to person.

A solution to help support communities in tackling the spread of Covid-19 at this time.

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