It is learnt that, after five years of being neglected, roads across Panaji were being marked with zebra crossings in an effort to implement traffic regulations. A total of 35 zebra crossings across the city were in urgent need of painting due to weathering. The need of repainting zebra crossings is felt in other major cities as well. It must be said that however many zebra crossings are present on the roads, it serves no purpose if the pedestrians and the motorists do not follow the traffic rules. It must be said that the concept of using the zebra crossing by pedestrians is alien to Goans. Unlike in other cities in the country, where pedestrians use the zebra crossing to cross the road, in Goa pedestrians cross the road wherever it is convenient for them. In countries like the UK motorists stop at the zebra crossings to allow the pedestrians to cross the road. In India, motorists do not even slow down while approaching the zebra crossings. Besides the markings on the roads, signage also needs to be put up to make motorists aware of the zebra-crossing ahead. There seems to be a need to instill road discipline among the pedestrians as well. For this awareness of using the zebra crossing and even penalizing pedestrians for not using them needs to be introduced. For pedestrians in Goa using the zebra crossing seems to have lost it’s significance.
