They stepped on the grass just to hear the audio warning that plays when you step on the grass

In the İskenderun district, located on the Mediterranean coast and known for its advanced level of development, the wounds of the earthquake continue to be healed. The İskenderun Municipality, which is erasing the traces of the earthquake in the region day by day, has also accelerated its landscaping efforts. Having previously stated that criminal proceedings would be applied if trash is thrown on the ground, the İskenderun Municipality has now installed a speaker system in the green area on Mete Aslan Boulevard in the city center. With the warning from the sensor system that detects when someone steps on the grass, an announcement that makes people smile, saying 'Do not step on the grass, please use the pedestrian path,' plays from the speaker. The amusing announcement, which has won the appreciation of the local people, quickly became a center of attention on social media.

“Even vehicle drivers turn around and reach out their arms just to trigger the alarm; people find it funny”

Stating that the sound that emerges when stepping on the grass makes people laugh, 26-year-old Hasan Günsaldı said, “I think it is a deterrent practice. At the very least, it has become a startling and humorous system for pedestrians who might step on the grass. I found it quite successful; I congratulate those who did it. The Mayor of İskenderun is currently doing some very serious work regarding landscaping and visual aesthetics. I think it is a very good project for the city's appearance for both local citizens and those coming from out of town. This is necessary to protect our green spaces; just talking is not enough to raise awareness, and these kinds of funny and deterrent things also need to be done. Fifty percent of people find it funny. Fifty percent find it absurd, but I think such things should at least be a stepping stone. The system installed on Mete Aslan Boulevard became a center of attention for citizens and suddenly exploded on social media; it made a big splash. When we step on the grass, it says 'Do not step on the grass, please use the pedestrian path' and the alarm goes off. Even vehicles turn around and reach out their arms just to trigger the alarm; people find it funny. The 'do not step on the grass' incident adds a bit of humor, and even if people weren't going to step on it, they trigger the sensors just to hear the sound of that alarm and have a little fun,” he said.

“Four friends of us walked here to try it out, and when we tried it, we really liked it; it’s quite humorous”

Stating that they walked to the area to try out the sensor, 20-year-old Metehan Elmas said, “I found the system they built to be very nice and reliable. I also find it important for people to be more aware of their insensitivity. When I tried it, the fact that people are warned with a sound in a logical way and that it stays in their memory made me even happier. Four friends of us walked here from the Modernevler neighborhood to try it out, and when we tried it, we really liked it; it’s quite humorous. Since we found something different in İskenderun, we said let's give it a try, and it seemed strange to us as well, so it must have caught the attention of other people even more. I think it was a logical project. It made us laugh a lot when it said 'Do not step on the grass, use the pedestrian path' because it is not a common situation; we are trying it for the first time in İskenderun,” he said.