Wayspot Restore Appeal: Wrongly Removed

Wayspot Appeals
1

Wayspot Title:
西門町6號彩虹—Rainbow Six, Ximentin

Location:
25.042679,121.507531

City, Country:
Taipei City, Taiwan

Photo Cover of this Pokestop

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“Rainbow Six” is a famous landmark in Ximendin, Taipei, Taiwan. Composed of six different colored painted surfaces, it symbolizes Taipei’s commitment to gender equality, equal rights, and social progress. The six-color rainbow road is a permanent Taipei landmark, and many tourists take photos there as a souvenir.

However, I discovered that this Pokestop has been removed recently from the game.
I think there are two possible reasons:

  1. It was misinterpreted as unsafe
  2. It was renovated and repainted in July.

Regarding 1. The Ximen pedestrian zone is similar in design to Akihabara, Japan. It is open to pedestrians from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM Monday to Friday, and from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM Saturday to Sunday. During this period, only pedestrians are allowed to pass through and vehicles are prohibited from entering.

Reference from Taipei City Urban Development Bureau website

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Regarding 2. Because the landscape hadn’t been renovated in 5-6 years, it was renovated and repainted between July and early August. For more information, see:

Economic Daily News
(A Must-See! The Ximending Rainbow Landscape Returns, Tourists Snap Photos of “TAIPEI”)
Taipei Travel Guide
(An Upgraded Check-in Hotspot! Ximending’s “Rainbow No. 6” Reopens August 9th to Welcome Domestic and International Tourists)

Attached are photos I took today (and photos taken with my GPS camera) to prove that this Pokestop still exists and is safe.

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Thank you for your attention to this issue!

1 Like
2

This still does not prove that it has safe pedestrian access, as vehicles are allowed during some times of the day. A Wayspot must have safe pedestrian access at all times of the day, not certain times of the day.

Also, the repainting most likely have nothing to do with whether or not this will be restored, as the main issue is the pedestrian access.

3

I personally tend to believe it’s more related to reason #2. Firstly, this wayspot has been there for years, so it wouldn’t have suddenly disappeared. During renovations, they removed the original paint, so someone took a photo and requested its removal. This is more likely.

Regarding safety, I’m not making excuses, but in Taiwan, a small and densely populated area, this wayspot is quite safe. After all, it’s located next to a pedestrian zone, and there are many similar wayspots throughout the whole Ximen pedestrian zone. If this one doesn’t meet the standards, many other wayspots could be removed. (In fact, by Taiwanese standards, it still meets the standards even without the pedestrian zone time.)

Another article also describes the mistaken removal (you also responded there):

4

I think you misunderstand, as the reason that this may not be restored is the unsafe pedestrian access, not the repainting.

There are no exceptions made for safety, regardless of where a Wayspot is in the world. This is also different than the utility box appeal that you mention, as this is a mural painted directly on the street, and you have noted that vehicles do use this street. Staff also deemed that the utility box would not be restored, but they didn’t say as to why it would not be restored. We, as users, can only assume why it may not have been restored, which is what I am doing here as well.

Because of the location of this mural, on a street surface, and that street does have vehicle traffic, it doesn’t have safe pedestrian access at all times.

We have street murals where I live, and none of them have Wayspots, even if they are in areas with heavy pedestrian traffic. This is because there is also vehicle traffic on these streets, so it wouldn’t be safe for a person to be at the Wayspot. Sometimes these street get shut down to vehicle traffic for events, but that still doesn’t make it safe to access when the streets are open to vehicle traffic.

BTW, Street View shows cars driving on this mural over the years, so it clearly cannot be access safely at all times:

1 Like
5

There’s no point in arguing about this.

For example, take this most common mural Wayspot

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According to standards you mentioned, motorbikes and cars would pass by here. So it’s unsafe and therefore should be removed.

But here, there are thousands of similar wayspots, all located along the road. In Taiwan, there are many roads shared by cars/motorcycles and pedestrians, and the local reviewers also agree and approve similar situations. It should not over-exaggerate safety rules. Otherwise, Taiwan would instantly lose half of Pokestops and Gyms.

The same standards can’t be applied to all locations. This is obvious.

6

There appears to be a sidewalk directly in front of this mural. I don’t see any issues with this one at first glance.

while the other location had clear pedestrian issues unfortunately.

1 Like
7

This mural has some area on the side of the road to safely access. The Wayspot that was removed is in the middle of the road, which isn’t a safe place at all times for pedestrians to access.

That’s the difference between these 2 murals; murals painted on streets used by vehicles is unsafe for pedestrian access.

I will ve muting this, as it doesn’t seem you are able to see the unsafe aspect of this mural and why the Wayspot may not be restored.