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Sparks Street is getting silly, very silly indeed, and the people behind the silliness want you to get silly, too.

Administrators have installed new pedestrian-crossing signs along the downtown walking mall that will be immediately recognizable to any fan of the British comedy troupe Monty Python. The signs, now up where the mall intersects Metcalfe and O’Connor streets, show the silhouette of a man walking in an absurdly exaggerated manner, just as John Cleese did in the classic Monty Python skit The Ministry of Silly Walks.

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The signs are part of the Sparks Street Authority’s desire to bring some irreverent fun to the mall, and pedestrians are encouraged to be as silly as they can be.

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“We’re encouraging people to have a silly walk,” says executive director Les Gagne. “We’re encouraging them to lighten their day and have some fun as they cross the street. . . We thought we’d bring a little more fun to Sparks Street, especially when it’s so sober sometimes because we’re so close to Parliament.”