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Rainbow crosswalk steps closer to reality

Port Moody is a step closer to having its own rainbow crosswalk.
Rainbow crosswalk
A rainbow crosswalk like this one is being pitched for Murray Street in Port Moody, linking Rocky Point Park and Brewers Row.

Port Moody is a step closer to having its own rainbow crosswalk.

After a presentation by Amy Anne Lubik and Rodney Stehr at Tuesday’s meeting of the committee of the whole, council referred their pitch — that the crosswalk on Murray Street between Rocky Point Park and Brewers Row to be painted the colours of the rainbow as a show of support and acceptance for the city’s LGBTQ+ community — to staff for further consideration. Staff will then prepare a report for a future council meeting, likely in September.

One of the things they’ll look at is the cost of painting the crosswalk in-house. Lubik told council painting the crosswalk would cost about $6,500, “which is quite small, we think.”

Lubik said a rainbow crosswalk is a “small, but important, start” to show the community stands with its LGBTQ+ members. She said similar crosswalks have been installed in communities around the province, including Kamloops, Nanaimo and Kelowna. 

And she said a rainbow crosswalk would be the perfect place to start a public pride parade to engage the community. 

“It would be a unifying piece of art for the City of the Arts,” she told council.

Stehr, who works with LGBTQ+ youth, said a rainbow crosswalk is an opportunity to demonstrate compassion to all the diverse communities that comprise Port Moody.

“Sometimes it’s much easier to legislate walls to protect ourselves from the things that are alien to us than to extend a brave hand and ask, ‘How can we work together to create a community that is safe for all of us?’” Stehr said.

Count. Rob Vagramov said he was moved by the presentation and suggested there could even be an opportunity to have more than just one rainbow crosswalk in the city.