The narrowest street in Prague, Czech Republic
In Prague, there is such a narrow street that it has a special traffic light for pedestrians. The name of the neighbourhood with this interesting and tourist-attractive street is Malá Strana, which is considered one of the oldest and most beautiful districts in the city. The neighbourhood is located below Prague Castle and it was once a part of the Kings’ route taken by future kings on their way to the coronation. If you walk along the cobblestone road of this beautiful neighbourhood you can observe charming medieval houses, remarkable palaces, churches, charming parks, gardens with peacocks and souvenir stores. And of course, also restaurants with traditional Czech food and beer.
A zebra crossing in Zagreb, Croatia
The world’s first crosswalk was officially installed in Slough, UK in 1951. It was directly named after the stripes that resemble the pattern of the zebra, but there are also other stories about the source of the name. In the middle of the 20th century, zebras are said to have repeatedly escaped from the London Zoo. They caused a lot od accidents, so the keepers decided to teach them basic pedestrian etiquette. The section, where zebras could cross the road was painted white and black. If they managed to cross the road properly, they were rewarded with grass. It is up to you to decide, which story is true.
A zebra crossing is usually a road marking with wide straight lines. In Zagreb, you can see an interesting design in front of the zoo, where the lines are curved and even more reminiscent of a zebra pattern.
Traffic sign warning of falling cows, California
At the intersection of Old Kern Canyon Road and SR-178, you can find the most unusual traffic sign. Each country has signs warning that specific animals may cross the road, but not that they fall on it from the hills above. The story behind this traffic sign is that the hills are free-range grazed and very steep in some areas. After the rain they become slippery and because of this, it happened several times that some cows slipped and fell straight on the vehicle.
Traffic lights with pictograms of couples, Austria
In 2015, Vienna hosted Eurovision Song Contest, Life Ball and Rainbow Parade. Those events have drawn international attention to the role of Vienna as an open-minded city that respects human rights. They started an interesting project and replaced the standard little figures in traffic lights with straight and same-sex couples. New traffic lights highlighted the diversity of humanity. The international response was fantastic; therefore, they kept the new symbols permanent and not just temporary. It is also interesting that in the beginning, traffic safety was greatly improved, as people paid more attention to traffic signals.
Traffic sign warning of mosquitoes, Alaska
The next traffic sign is found in Alaska. A humorous sign warns that you are in an area, where are many mosquitoes. Even if it looks pretty out of the ordinary, I think it should be used more often to warn people to walk faster, before they are bitten by mosquitos. Especially near standing water.
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