From 2014 until the installation of diamonds before unregulated pedestrian crossings in Kaunas, 17 people died. Later, for almost eight years, there were no deaths there – until the tragic accident on Jurbarko Street last December.
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In the near future, this marking should also appear in Klaipėda, which, looking at Kaunas’ experience, saw that diamonds are worth attention. However, bureaucrats from the Ministry of Transport and the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration are trying in various ways to diminish the benefits of this marking and even threaten with fines. As the classics would say: every initiative is punished.
As long as Kaunas city municipality maintains the streets of Kaunas, it is our duty to take care of them. If we use a measure that helps prevent accidents, we will not give it up. The streets of Kaunas are not managed by the ministry or its subordinate institutions – we are primarily responsible for their condition and the safety of people. And we take that responsibility not on paper, but with real actions.
If state institutions think that diamonds need to be more clearly legalized – let them do so. Kaunas proposed regulating such practice several years ago. It is strange when no one takes the initiative for years, and then wonders why cities look for solutions themselves. If the problem is not the diamonds, but that they are not in the description, then maybe the description needs to be fixed, not to destroy what has already proven effective.
In Japan, such marking has been used for more than half a century. Even the Tokyo police call it the diamond sign. Certainly, each diamond on the asphalt does not need a separate blessing from Vilnius.
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It sounds ridiculous when institutions that themselves should think hard about how to increase road safety and adapt legislation for it do the opposite. They punish municipalities that invest in comprehensive safety measures. In other words, they use their creativity not to increase safety, but to evade responsibility.
The most important thing here is not the number of diamond corners and not whose signature is under which description. The most important thing is that a person returns home safely.
Kaunas is giving away a good idea for free – to install diamonds throughout Lithuania. I invite Lithuanian cities to use what really works, and the Ministry of Transport – to finally provide a clear legal basis for such practice. LTSA, in turn, could contribute to saving lives instead of looking for whom and how to punish.
