On Širok Sokak in Bitola, traffic lights have sprouted - and, as usually happens with anything that touches the city's most famous promenade, reactions are split. They've been installed at the intersection by the "Epinal" hotel, aren't working yet, and are expected to go live in autumn, after the "Manaki Brothers" film festival wraps up.

The idea behind them is practical. The intersection is a problem - vehicles have to wait for pedestrians crossing Širok Sokak one by one, which creates congestion, and according to analyses, half the daily traffic there is just passing through. The lights are meant to bring order, and the pedestrian areas have been widened with white islands.

That's where the agreement among residents ends. Some say order was needed long ago; others ask whether a traffic light on the promenade is exactly what the atmosphere of the city's most beautiful street was missing. Aesthetics versus function - an old Bitola argument that this time has a light on a traffic signal.

The municipality is also announcing additional pedestrian lights towards the Stone Bridge, as well as turning "Goce Delčev" square into a vehicle-free zone. Whether Širok Sokak will be safer or just one more place where you wait for green - time will tell. For now, the promenade is getting something half the city wanted and half didn't ask for.