The Czech Environment Ministry has raised the ire of people from a town near the Czech-Slovak border by announcing that it had secured half a billion crowns to build an overpass for bears over the motorway leading to Slovakia, because Slovak bears are allegedly crossing over to the Czech Republic and have no place to cross the road. The inhabitants of Jablunkov say that no bears have been sighted in the region for thirty years and the idea of spending such a staggering sum on a bridge for bears was crazy when people had no place to cross the road either.
Their arguments might sound petty were it not for the fact that in the past year 14 people have been hit crossing the road, three of them killed on the spot. Since the municipality lacks the funds for an overpass for people – and there are no bears in the vicinity – maybe the people of Jablunkov could use the overpass for bears when no-one is looking. I am sure the bears would have no objections.