Harstad Municipality violates road traffic law by painting sidewalks with rainbow colors

Jørn Johansson, president of Harstad Pride, thinks it’s great to decorate the city center with pedestrian crossings in rainbow colors.

– Pride is very satisfying and proud of Harstad politicians, he says.

The aim is to show that Harstad is a city and a municipality, says Evan Aronsson of Harstad Venstre.

– Aronson says everyone should have a sense of belonging and feel welcome.

Violation of road traffic laws

Across the country, pedestrian crossings are decorated in rainbow colors. But in Westland, a county road in the center of Bergen has no color party between the crossing lines, which county politicians don’t want for traffic safety and traffic regulation reasons.

But at Harstad, they’ve gone even further. Here, the intersecting white lines have been replaced with longitudinal colored lines. As a result, the pavement itself has completely disappeared.

– This is another violation of the Road Traffic Act, says Od Anders Magnussen, senior engineer at the Directorate of Roads.

– A little Muller’s cod liver oil

As well as being the architect behind the proposal for the rainbow colours, Venstre’s Evan Aronsson sits as chairman of the municipality of Harstad.

He says his plan was to paint between the white lines, but the municipality took it a step further.

– Aronson says it’s a shame if Harstad violates the Road Traffic Act, and he hopes the administration will address it.

This is what Øivind Arvola, communication manager of the municipality of Harstad, warns:

– When we knew we were going to paint rainbow colors, we took a little too much Muller’s cod liver oil, he says.

– It’s great that Harstad has the colors they have now. But we are informed that it will not be entirely as the laws and regulations dictate.

– Now we are going to fix it so that the pedestrian paths are painted white, says the communications manager at Harstad.

This meant that Harstad would follow Bergen’s example and use the colors between the white lines.

They will see the rules

Just before the summer the municipal council in Harstad decided, among other things, to paint the city’s sidewalks in a less-traffic area in the city center.

It is part of the City Dressing project, which aims to create a sense of well-being and well-being.

But according to the Directorate of Roads, it is not certain that such colors are safe for traffic.

The same goes for most municipalities that have chosen to preserve the white lines on sidewalks and paint the rainbow colors between them. As did Bergen.

– We will look at the terms. Od Anders Magnussen, senior engineer at the Road Directorate, says the regulation is part of the overall regulations.

IN Veer24.No Magnussen points out that today’s regulations say only about the sidewalk — but what should be around it.

Magnussen explains why the Roads Directorate is considering changing the current rules.

– Functional road signs must meet the needs of road users, he tells NRK.

– For example, it is visible in daylight and darkness. Both dry and wet. It should obtain a correct color reproduction of the yellow color and sufficient contrast against the substrate.

Magnussen believes that the road should be easily recognizable by users.

– For sidewalks in general, it’s very important not to focus on crossing gentle road users, says Magnussen.

– Act with discretion

Jørn Johansson, president of Harstad Pride, says he doesn’t know the law. He believes that colors never disappear completely.

– Based on my own point of view, I think we can show prudence in such matters. You can solve that by putting up extra signs, says Johansen, which is no doubt a pedestrian crossing.

– We live in a part of the country where there is ice and snow on the roads half the year. Either way, it won’t show up on the street.