TAIPEI - Taipei City’s Traffic Engineering Office has created temporary traffic signs out of collapsible mahjong tables to indicate the special bus lanes that will transport visitors to venues for the upcoming 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo.

The Bus Rapid Transit system will ferry visitors to many of the expo venues located along Minzu East and Minzu West roads. While officials want ordinary cars and motorcycles to stay out of the designated bus lanes, they have found that this is easier said than done.

Idea

Xie Ming-hong, a traffic engineer, came up with the idea of using the mahjong tables. He had volunteer traffic police use the tables he bought on Huanhe South Road on a trial basis, and the idea was well received.

Xie affixed stickers on the tables, making them easy for drivers to see and simple for volunteers to set up and take down. As soon as traffic restrictions are lifted each day, the sandbag that holds the table in place can be removed along with the table, immediately clearing the road.

The BRT lanes have been in use during the past two weekends. While some drivers are still not familiar with the traffic restrictions in the area, at least the volunteers no longer have to worry about injuring themselves when trying to move 30-kilogram sign poles. Some of them joked that after the mahjong tables are removed from the streets, they can be opened back up to serve as lunch or dinner tables. Volunteers might even get a game going when their shift is over.

(This article originally appeared in The Liberty Times Oct. 20.)