Rainbow crosswalk design changed to be more ‘inclusive’

There will be more colours added to the rainbow that will soon adorn Simcoe Street.

Back in April, Collingwood council voted in favour of painting a rainbow crosswalk at the corner of Simcoe and Ste. Marie Streets, with costs set to be split between the town and the Rainbow Club of South Georgian Bay.

Since then, staff have done more research and now plan to proceed with a different design for the crosswalk, which is intended to be more inclusive. The new design was presented to councillors on Monday night.

“Between the committee meeting and the council meeting, we came to find that the flag was not as inclusive of all communities,” said Dean Collver, executive director of customer and corporate services. “Public works dove in and worked hard to try to find ways to provide a more inclusive outcome.”

The original cost for the crosswalk was slated at $7,500, to be split between the town and the Rainbow Club of South Georgian Bay. With the new design, a new thermoplastic paint will be used to increase durability, which will raise the cost to $15,000. The new cost will be split evenly between the Rainbow Club, public works and parks and recreation departments.

The new design was created in 2018 by queer designer and activist Daniel Quasar, with an emphasis on inclusion and progression. It includes elements of the original six-colour flag, plus adds brown for marginalized people of colour, black for those living with AIDS, those no longer living, and the stigma surrounding them, light blue, light pink and white to incorporate the Transgender Pride Flag and an arrow pointing to the right to represent forward movement.

“This design is a lot more inclusive than the pride flag on its own,” said Collver.