America’s obsession with Elvis Presley has danced its way over to Europe. That appears to be the case for law-abiding motorists over in Friedberg, Germany, where “The King,” as he’s dubbed here in the States, is now dictating drivers on when they can and can’t cross the road.
Yup, red and green traffic lights showing trademark Elvis poses have been installed into the German town as a way of boosting tourism and hopefully getting more drivers enthused about paying attention when behind the wheel.
The concept of using Elvis Presley to dictate to drivers and pedestrians when it’s safe to continue crossing the road isn’t too far fetched. Pressley called the town of Friedberg his home for two years from October 1958 to March 1960, back when he was stationed there as a member of the U.S. Army. Good times, right? The idea came from the citizens of Friedberg who proposed it to the town council, and only cost a manageable $1,020 to install the colored silhouettes into a trio of traffic lights.
The red light shows the Elvis character standing near the mic, meaning drivers need to hold up for a minute while the guitar solo passes. The green light, of course, shows the Elvis image moving to the music with that dangerous circling pelvis of his, meaning it’s time to rock and roll!
According to a local report, the town police had to agree to traffic law changes, which included various graphic design proposals which would need to be installed by the traffic light company. The entire process took three months before the project was given, wait for it, the green light.
The installment of the Elvis-themed traffic lights last month also came around the same time that the famous rocker’s former home-turned-museum, Graceland, announced it would be expanding its concert schedule in 2019 as well. The popular tourist attraction in Memphis, Tennessee routinely hosts Elvis-focused events, but a new partnership alongside concert promoter Live Nation will allow the former residence to begin hosting shows by today’s contemporary artists onto its grounds beginning this spring and summer.
[H/T CNN]