At the risk of being branded politically incorrect (there is a first time for everything) it needs to be said that maybe crosswalks don’t make the best canvasses for social or political statements - and that includes rainbows.
Recently the City of Merritt was in the news after its council rejected a proposal from the school district - prompted by a petition from its high school’s LGBTQ group and the Aboriginal Youth Voice group - to create a rainbow crosswalk on a public road near the institution.
The 4-3 vote was widely criticized on social media, and two lawyers who own parking lots in Merritt then offered to allow the students to decorate their pavement in rainbow colors and they will even pay for the paint.
Okay. The rainbow is a beautiful symbol of inclusion. While closely associated with Pride organizations, it has long held connections with peace and hope.
And it’s fantastic that young people are recognizing the struggles of their peers and looking for creative ways to support and encourage others.
Still, there is a political stripe to the rainbow.
Merritt councillors reportedly discussed the downside to a rainbow crosswalk, and expressed fears that the Rotary Club and local hockey team might be next in line wanting their own special crosswalks.
Sounds silly at first blush - but Chilliwack has a bylaw that prohibits decorated crosswalks of any kind. That was passed after city hall received two separate requests in one week - one for a rainbow crosswalk and another for a pro-life crosswalk depicting painted crosses or infant feet.
Nobody would want to step into that debate.
Many other communities in BC seem to get along just fine with their rainbows.
Princeton was one of the first small towns to create such a crosswalk in July, 2015.
After some school kids used sidewalk chalk for a makeshift rainbow, a proposal was brought to town council for a permanent instalment.
Remarkably, council passed a supporting resolution almost immediately and with little dialogue. The crosswalk was painted in a number of days.
Then everyone sat and watched the colors fade slowly away. In less than a year Princeton was over the rainbow.
The rainbow - for all it represents - is a powerful symbol to be incorporated into art in public spaces, certainly in schools, on flags, in jewellery and even grafted onto the skin.
Crosswalks on public streets have a rather more pedestrian use, however. They are there so that people can cross streets safely.
There is nothing wrong with keeping the two of them separate. - AD