Vimeo/Lightrail

Market Street is the spinal cord of San Francisco, winding from the waterfront through various communities and ending outside the city's downtown.

A massive new art installation shows us what's happening underground may be just as exciting as the chaos above it.

Artists George Zisiadis and Stefano Corazza have created an exhibit, Lightrail, that illustrates the real-time movements of San Francisco's subway system (BART and Muni trains) aboveground.

Starting in 2017, LED lights strung overhead will blink in succession as the subway cars make their way down the line. For now, guests can get a glimpse at an indoor demo, where lights wiz past their heads as they stand surrounded by projection screens.

While the exhibit, created for a nonprofit called Illuminate the Arts, exists only in simulation form now, Zisiadis and Corazza are raising $10 million to install it on Market Street sometime in 2017.

This concept video demonstrates what it will look like IRL:

Vimeo/Lightrail

It looks only mildly distracting while driving.

Vimeo/Lightrail

The finished installation, already approved by city officials, will run nearly two miles from One Market to Van Ness Avenue. It's permitted to stay up to four years.

As an added bonus, the project website claims the energy-efficient LED bulbs will cast a light on Market Street that is "more flattering to the human face" than the current street lamps.

Watch the video below to learn more:

Lightrail - Making mass transit more magical from michelebaggio on Vimeo.