Traffic experts have slammed the rainbow-coloured pedestrian crossing in Floriana intended to mark the first year of gay unions in Malta, saying it would distract drivers.
However, the spokesman for a transport watchdog told this newspaper that the change to the crossing was perfectly legal.
“None of the legal specifications for the design of the pelican crossing were altered. All signage and road markings, as required according to standard specifications, are unaltered,” the Transport Malta spokesman said. The idea, piloted by the Civil Liberties Ministry, has been borrowed from other European countries, as part of a campaign to raise awareness on LGBT rights.
Photos of the St Anne Street zebra crossing in the traditional rainbow pattern for gay pride went viral on social media, but some questioned whether the unconventional colour scheme was legal.
Saying it was a ‘damn stupid idea’, a former transport consultant questioned if the idea could pose unnecessary hazards to pedestrians
Contacted by this newspaper, former transport watchdog consultant Hugh Arnett did not mince words, saying it was a “damn stupid idea”.
“The highway code says a zebra crossing should be white and black, and so at face value it looks illegal,” he said.
While questioning whether the potential risks for colour-blind drivers had been taken into consideration, he pointed out that such radical changes should never be introduced overnight.
“Why do you need to do it? This idea could pose unnecessary hazards to pedestrians,” he said.
Traffic expert Simon Micallef Stafrace also shot down the idea. “There is a time and place to make statements… a zebra crossing is not such a place,” he said.
Dr Micallef Stafrace said the black and white colour scheme is the only recognised one all over the world. As a result he argued that the “wrong” colouring would distract drivers and cause confusion.
Last month, the council of a Devon market town in the UK gave the thumbs up to the first permanent gay pride zebra crossing in Europe. However, unlike the example in Floriana, the black asphalt strips were retained to reduce the visual impact for motorists.
Other temporary rainbow zebra crossings have been painted at locations around the world for gay pride events, and most of them did retain the black strips.