Protesters, mostly from the Čair neighbourhood, prevented City of Skopje crews from installing a fence at the illegal pedestrian crossing near Bit Pazar. They blocked the workers with a human shield. Traffic on Krste Petkov Misirkov Boulevard was cut off. Police arrived. All for one unsanctioned zebra crossing.

The city says the crossing must be closed for safety. The official crossing - an overpass 30 metres away - exists. That's the administration's argument. The protesters' counter: the overpass doesn't work. The lifts have been broken for years, older people can't use it. That makes the illegal crossing not just popular - but necessary for many people.

Who's at fault? Both. Citizens protesting against something that is technically "illegal," and a city administration that has allowed the overpass to remain unusable for years. From 2018 to 2026 - how many times did authorities receive reports about the lifts? How many times did the issue make it onto an operational meeting agenda?

This is a story about how Macedonian institutions handle urban infrastructure. First they let one system collapse, then they destroy the alternative, then they wonder why citizens are "disobedient." Repairing the overpass would cost far less than fencing off the illegal crossing with police backup.

The mayor: "The city's position is that the location must be closed for safety reasons." Fine - safety matters. But safety doesn't come from a fence put up across citizens who have no alternative. Safety comes with a functional alternative - and that takes money, time, and political will. All three are missing here.

The illegal crossing remains open. Citizens use it at their own risk. The police stand to the side. This is the status quo of the Macedonian administration - what doesn't work, nobody fixes, and what is "problematic," nobody solves.