Rainbow crossing Floriana

Can't help but think that someone knew full well you had made a typo Rob (it was obvious to anyone -  if they looked carefully) and just wanted to 'rub it in'.

Now I am going to run around town nacked shouting Eureka!

Someone shows again what they had for lunch!

That happens when you run round naked lol

robpw2 wrote:

Look I'm sorry I made a mistake ok - I should have said Indonesia ... Point still stands how does a rainbow crossing in Malta affect him in anyway ... It doesn't  simple

I said to you in the PM, if you dislike me posting here, cry yourself to sleep.

The question is, does it make any actual difference to you?
The answer being, only if you use that part of that street.

This isn't a Malta specific issue, more of a general political one, and I have an opinion on the subject.
My opinion is clear, no one should mess with road safety to make a political point - even if I happen to agree with the point.

Yes, gay people are exactly the same as anyone else - people - but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to mess with road marking to make a political point - it is not.
The zebra crossing lines give maximum contrast in any lighting conditions, this version is seriously inferior, and could be confusing or distracting.
There are several version of this, including the Malta copy, and they're all share one thing - they're all a blindingly stupid idea.
If someone set up a mock version in a pedestrian area, it's fine, but not on a road that vehicles use.

Of course, there's another issue no one has expressed.
Is it reasonable to spend public money in order to push a political opinion?
If this is allowed, could an extremist party demand zebra crossings be all white, and paid for from public purse?
I understand racism to be a major issue over there, so could possibly gain quite a lot of support.
Would that be acceptable?

If you allow public money to be spent on one political ideal, every group can demand their views be equally expressed.

Fred wrote:

The zebra crossing lines give maximum contrast in any lighting conditions, this version is seriously inferior, and could be confusing or distracting.

You've probably never been to Malta Fred, so I'm not sure that your argument holds up here. The general quality of the zebra crossings in Malta in very poor, some of them are virtually invisible, in all lighting conditions. I would like to think I'm a slightly more conscientious driver than some of the locals I've seen, and even I've missed a few while driving here. Painting them multi-coloured would more than likely increase their visibility significantly.

As for mentioning road safety and Malta in the same sentence. 

There is none, you take your life in your own hands when you use a zebra crossing or a pedestrian traffic light in Malta. I've had several occasions when I've hit the button here, the traffic light has gone red, the little green man has appeared, I check that nothing seems to be coming and step out into the road. A few metres into my journey I hear an almighty screech of tires and my life flashes before me.

Your arguments may be valid in many countries Fred, but this is Malta. 

3,795 reported traffic accidents in 91 days. I rest my case m'lord.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … nts.530681

On An Island wrote:

3,795 reported traffic accidents in 91 days. I rest my case m'lord.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … nts.530681

Shocking statistics!
We need overhead monorails
We need disincentives so less car journeys
We need more pedestrianised and car areas
We need better measures to separate cars and pedestrians
We need bicycle road infrastructure and culture

New Horizonz wrote:

On An Island wrote:

3,795 reported traffic accidents in 91 days. I rest my case m'lord.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vi … nts.530681

Shocking statistics!
We need overhead monorails
We need disincentives so less car journeys
We need more pedestrianised and car areas
We need better measures to separate cars and pedestrians
We need bicycle road infrastructure and culture

We need a 'New Horizon' free zone!!   

Or a FOxglOve free zone !!!😂👍

The crossing was a useless mess before this stupidity, but that doesn't excuse the useless stupidity.



If the rods are that bad, surely road safety comes before political points.

Road safety is important and if they had taken money designated for road repairs to pay for the crossing then I can see why people might be annoyed however as you will see from your picture of it originally it's not a Zebra crossing not was it ever so all your arguments about zebra crossing being a particular way are moot points

Ironically despite having some of the worst roads in Europe the death rate is the lowest according to a report realeased today so I suppose there is a silver lining to every cloud

robpw2 wrote:

Ironically despite having some of the worst roads in Europe the death rate is the lowest according to a report realeased today so I suppose there is a silver lining to every cloud

Only because it's not possible to drive fast enough to cause the accidents to be fatal. As you say, one reason to be thankful for such a badly-maintained road network and so much over-crowding.

(moderated: no rude comments here please)

robpw2 wrote:

To support LGBT rights around the world various towns and cities have been painting a Zebra crossing rainbow colours similar to that of the LGBT pride flag.

Whilst in Floriana today just down the road from Valletta we noticed they have also done the same

robpw2 wrote:

however as you will see from your picture of it originally it's not a Zebra crossing not was it ever

Yes, it seems the OP was very misleading, no, inaccurate. (Wrong)
Luckily, I noticed the error, then produced evidence to show the OP's mistake.

However, regardless of the OP's large error, the point stands.
Messing about with road safety in order to make a political point is wrong, especially if, as has been commented, Malta's roads are already unsafe.

Fred wrote:

robpw2 wrote:

To support LGBT rights around the world various towns and cities have been painting a Zebra crossing rainbow colours similar to that of the LGBT pride flag.

Whilst in Floriana today just down the road from Valletta we noticed they have also done the same

robpw2 wrote:

however as you will see from your picture of it originally it's not a Zebra crossing not was it ever

Yes, it seems the OP was very misleading, no, inaccurate. (Wrong)
Luckily, I noticed the error, then produced evidence to show the OP's mistake.

However, regardless of the OP's large error, the point stands.
Messing about with road safety in order to make a political point is wrong, especially if, as has been commented, Malta's roads are already unsafe.

I'm a correct in that other cities had painted zebra crossings look at London brighton and somewhere in Devon for examples .. Floriana painted a crossong

Also Fred as you like searching for things perhaps you could come up with a list of RAINBOW crossing related accidents ?

Why anyone takes such an interest in a forum about a country that they have never been to except to 'troll' is beyond me. Don't feed the animals! No one else will do anything about this. Just ignore and maybe just maybe they will find somewhere else to go to satisfy their needs. (Whatever they may be.)

Hi everybody,

Please calm down, it is not necessary to pick a fight or to start arguing here.

Thanks

Priscilla 

Whilst I agree that opinions do not have to be substantiated with 'fact' there is a danger  when the person stating those opinions has absolutely no experience of the country that is being discussed! Those opinions can mislead those who are seeking information.Those opinions can also give a false representation of the reality of living in another country. It is also, arguably, of very little value to compare one country's norms and values and with other country's methods and procedures.
I just do not understand why anyone would want to do that, except to meet their own needs.

robpw2 wrote:

Also Fred as you like searching for things perhaps you could come up with a list of RAINBOW crossing related accidents ?

I'm a helpful sort of chap, so I'll provide evidence to back up my points.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-11/g … ng/4621896

His office says cameras monitoring the road showed the crossing had become a safety hazard.
Road workers moved in late last night and began tearing the crossing up.
Mr Gay says the crossing was removed at night because that was the easiest time to do it.

The man goes on to say how the costs will mean other road safety project would suffer because of the cost of removing the stupid and unsafe crossing.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/end-of-the-ra … 2hm3o.html

This is a matter of road and pedestrian safety which has no association whatsoever with my respect for the history and community of Oxford Street.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-27870093

A spokesman for the council said it would be happy to consider another "rainbow crossing" artwork in the future if organisers were willing to cover the costs of installation and removal.
But he stressed the council had been "strongly advised by our legal team that any application for it to be treated as a pedestrian crossing was likely to fail" because it was "not consistent with national traffic regulations".

http://adobochronicles.com/2014/09/03/p … rosswalks/

West Hollywood, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – In just the last 15 months, four pedestrians crossing the streets of West Hollywood have reportedly been killed — all of whom were hit by motorists.

Guess what, they were all on rainbow crossings.
Regardless of the reasons, these people were killed as a direct result of rainbow crossings being used.

Fred wrote:

robpw2 wrote:

Also Fred as you like searching for things perhaps you could come up with a list of RAINBOW crossing related accidents ?

I'm a helpful sort of chap, so I'll provide evidence to back up my points.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-11/g … ng/4621896

His office says cameras monitoring the road showed the crossing had become a safety hazard.
Road workers moved in late last night and began tearing the crossing up.
Mr Gay says the crossing was removed at night because that was the easiest time to do it.

The man goes on to say how the costs will mean other road safety project would suffer because of the cost of removing the stupid and unsafe crossing.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/end-of-the-ra … 2hm3o.html

This is a matter of road and pedestrian safety which has no association whatsoever with my respect for the history and community of Oxford Street.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-27870093

A spokesman for the council said it would be happy to consider another "rainbow crossing" artwork in the future if organisers were willing to cover the costs of installation and removal.
But he stressed the council had been "strongly advised by our legal team that any application for it to be treated as a pedestrian crossing was likely to fail" because it was "not consistent with national traffic regulations".

http://adobochronicles.com/2014/09/03/p … rosswalks/

West Hollywood, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – In just the last 15 months, four pedestrians crossing the streets of West Hollywood have reportedly been killed — all of whom were hit by motorists.

Guess what, they were all on rainbow crossings.
Regardless of the reasons, these people were killed as a direct result of rainbow crossings being used.

so the first 3 articles are merely opinions
the last article doesn't say all the accidents (if thats what we should call deliberate acts of homophobia)were at the crossings just that people had been mown down in road rage incidents at or near the gay part of the town .

It also doesn't say that it was because drivers didn't see the crossings etc

regardless of the reasons you say it makes pretty clear what the reasons were and that is nothing to do with the rainbow crossings affecting road safety its Homophobic morons who are deliberatly targeting people they think are gay thats a lot different from a genuine accident
thanks for the links though some interesting reading

I guess we shall have to see how many genuine accidents the road causes in malta

redmik wrote:

Whilst I agree that opinions do not have to be substantiated with 'fact' there is a danger  when the person stating those opinions has absolutely no experience of the country that is being discussed! Those opinions can mislead those who are seeking information.

The two threads you're moaning about are:
this, all about something that has appeared in several countries, and I have posted facts about - better that the Malta based OP who got the story wrong.

The Vodafone UK thread, all about Voda in the UK, and only I bothered to find out the OP was telling half a story, finding out from their twitter, the phone has been cut off long before the poster left the UK.

I'm very sorry for posting in YOUR Malta forum on subjects that are global or UK based, and knowing more than you lot.

redmik wrote:

Those opinions can mislead those who are seeking information.

Yes, your opinions and thoughts in those those threads are/were wrong, and did provide wrong information, and did potentially mislead those seeking information.

As it happens, I'm a forgiving guy, so I won't hold it against you, but it would be better if you checked your facts before you post on such issues.

robpw2 wrote:

I guess we shall have to see how many genuine accidents the road causes in malta

I'm sorry.
I didn't realize you only wanted issues that you agree with, not those caused by things you dislike, or the opinions of road safety experts.
After all, what's a man like Mr. Gay doing in that job if he disagrees with you?
By the way, have you even been to Australia (and the other places), and do you know the roads in question?
If not, you have no right to express an opinion - using your logic.

If the cap fits.
Also, I am not referring to any specific post, so do not put words into my mouth.

Priscilla wrote:

Hi everybody,

Please calm down, it is not necessary to pick a fight or to start arguing here.

Thanks

Priscilla 

It is unfortunate that there are few individuals who seem to think they have to comment on every post even if their post is attacking another individual member rather than relating to the topic.
The point of the Forum is to share expat experiences in a particular country with helpful advice from having lived there, not to voice personal opinions.

Perhaps the team should have a moderator for each country as is the case on certain other expat sites. This might help to stop long, rambling and often disjointed posts which have nothing to do with the topic but are just trying to score a point!

Fred wrote:

After all, what's a man like Mr. Gay doing in that job if he disagrees with you?

Please explain this comment.

For your information Duncan Gay , Is a minister not a road safety expert
Secondly he has a wife so if your inferring that by having gay as a surname means that his opinion is somehow speaking for the LGBT community then you have some issues

I don't agree with all ministers or there opinions - this be the magic of democracy . Just because someone is in government doesn't make their opinions correct

Secondly he has a wife so if your inferring that by having gay as a surname means that his opinion is somehow speaking for the LGBT community then you have some issues

No such suggestion - you made it up, or imagined it.

Given he ordered the crossing removed, and seems rather displeased at it ever existing, it would seem unlikely he supports the idea.
I'm so sorry for using his name, even if it's his name.

When posting, it would seem unreasonable to make things up, then suggest another poster is thinking in a given way.

I would ask you to refrain from making such suggestions and/or implying other posters are suggesting something.
It would also be helpful if you get the facts right in your posts before you comment on people who made the error of believing your OP, including the misinformation you posted.

Your post clearly suggests bigotry on my part, one you made up or imagined.

For those in Gozo who want to see such a crossing you can now see one in Victoria

I quite like the look of the crossing! I imagine it will mark up quickly though and look a bit pants...

[ Moderated by Priscilla : No political debates here please ]

robpw2 wrote:

For those in Gozo who want to see such a crossing you can now see one in Victoria

I crossed it yesterday. 

I didn't actually notice it until I had pressed the button and was waiting for the light to change. Then I thought, that doesn't look normal!! BLIND AS A BAT. It's not as impressive as the Malta one, but it's a much narrower crossing, so not as much room to work with.