Vienna traffic signals go red and green, gay and straight

May 12, 2015 at 1:59 p.m. | Updated May 12, 2015 at 2:05 p.m.

by Associated Press

A street light with a same gender pair is pictured in dowtown Vienna, Austria, May 12, 2015. These lights were set up by city officials until June, just in time for the annual Life Ball, where celebrities will rub shoulders with party-goers dressed in little more than body paint and cross-dressers in wild costumes at the charity event supporting AIDS research. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
A street light with a same gender pair is pictured in dowtown Vienna, Austria, May 12, 2015. These lights were set up by city officials until June, just in time for the annual Life Ball, where celebrities will rub shoulders with party-goers dressed in little more than body paint and cross-dressers in wild costumes at the charity event supporting AIDS research. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

VIENNA (AP) - Some Vienna pedestrian traffic lights are suddenly not only red or green. They're also gay or straight.

The city has started setting up lights at pedestrian crossings that show pairs of figures instead of the usual stick men. Some show a man and a woman. Others, two women. Still others, two men. All couples are complete with hearts.

The lights are being erected at 47 crossings and will stay up until June. Vienna hosts several events linked to tolerance during that time, including the Eurovision Song Contest and the Life Ball, Europe's biggest charity event for AIDS and HIV research.

The right-wing Freedom Party has criticized the signs but other Viennese loved the idea.

Clemens Bendtner says they draw attention to "the topic of equality."

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