Crews were painting the finishing touches on some unique crosswalks at Calgary’s Deerfoot City shopping district on Wednesday afternoon.
A series of 3D crosswalks is being added after businesses in the shopping centre complained about cars speeding along the roads.
According to the mall’s operations manager Mark Morris, using crosswalks was an aesthetically-pleasing solution to the problem.
Since the start of their installation, people have been taking to the internet with their feedback on the crosswalks, sharing many mixed reviews.
“On reddit we are seeing about 50/50 so far, and by the time we even got done doing that first phase of this crosswalk, it was already posted on social media,” Morris said.
“I think people just need to come here and experience it for themselves.”
The City of Calgary said residents shouldn’t expect similar optical-inclusion traffic calming measures on public roads any time soon, if ever, citing studies that show they could pose a danger.
“Motorists can perceive the raised crosswalk to actually be an obstruction of the roadway, take evasive manoeuvres such as swerving or abrupt braking to avoid the perceived obstruction,” Pat Grisak, with the city’s traffic and roads department, said.
“So those unpredictable manoeuvers are obviously a safety concern and for that reason, we don’t plan to use these here in the City of Calgary.”
It’s expected the crosswalks, which are a first of their kind for Calgary, will be open for pedestrians to cross by Thursday.