Two rainbow crosswalks, to be painted at downtown intersections, are intended as a visible reminder of municipal council’s commitment to inclusiveness.
The crosswalks, at the corner of Main Street and Henry Avenue and mid-block on Victoria Road North between Main Street and Jubilee Road, are both on prominent downtown streets.
The change comes following a suggestion by Coun. Erin Trainer, in her councillor’s report at the end of last week’s council meeting.
There was no formal council resolution to paint the crosswalks, a point which has generated concern from at least one Summerlander.
Doug Sharpe, who has written to council about the crosswalk changes, believes a public consultation process would be appropriate.
While public input is a part of many municipal decisions, one should also ask whether such a process is needed when deciding to paint crosswalks.
If consultation or a formal decision-making process is necessary here, would it also be necessary for decisions to patch roads or deal with other basic public works items? Would a consultation process be required before purchasing supplies or office equipment?
Micromanaging is a slow, cumbersome and inefficient process.
At the same time, the change to the crosswalks can be seen as something much more significant, simply because of the rainbow design used.
Since the late 1970s, a rainbow flag with horizontal bands of bright colours has been used as a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride flag. The crosswalk design is based on this flag — a flag which is not universally cherished and which sometimes generates a fair amount of controversy.
The two colourful crosswalks have the potential to stir a lot of anger, or they could generate some reasoned dialogue about the nature of inclusiveness and about the decision-making process.
The response will be up to the public.