Pedestrian crossing signals in TW get Valentine’s Day makeover

After 18 years of walking a lonely road, the avatar depicted in the pedestrian crossing signals of southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County has finally found love.

First announced by the county police bureau in December, the pedestrian crossing couple made its debut on the eve of Valentine’s Day. For the opening ceremony held on Tuesday morning by the county government, local authorities recruited a soon-to-be-wed couple to witness the new design’s unveiling, Taiwan News reported.

The green light now depicts the couple walking hand-in-hand across the street, while the red light captures a sequence in which the couple appears to embrace as a red heart throbs between them, before the man kneels down on one knee to propose.

The transport authorities responsible for the redesign told local media that their intention in dispensing with the 18-year-old single avatar was to arrest the attention of pedestrians with an exciting new experience that might compel them to more readily comply with traffic laws. “The change also emphasizes Pingtung as a county filled with love,” added county magistrate Pan Men-an (潘孟安).

Netizens on Chinese social media expressed, by turns, endearment and skepticism. Several were displeased with the prospect of being confronted with their own lonesomeness at every street corner. “Great,” one wrote. “To be reminded everywhere one goes that you’re single.” Others quipped that the newly minted pedestrian crossing signals wouldn’t last long “before they’re smashed to bits by resentful single people.” Multiple netizens also perceived the redesign as heteronormative and wondered how Taiwan’s LGBTQ community would respond.

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[Images via The Global Times]

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