Stratford-Perth Pride is launching a fundraising campaign to help repair the rainbow crosswalk in downtown Stratford.
An official release states that Stratford-Perth Pride is partnering with Kelly Ballantyne of Sirkel Foods to run the fundraiser, with an estimated cost of $7,000 needed to rent equipment and gather materials to refurbish the crosswalk. The release states the crosswalk is in need of complete replacement due to “the complex design of the crosswalk, the high frequency of snow plowing and salting, damage from graffiti and other possible reasons.” The cost of labour installation is generously being provided by Powerhouse Painting.
The new crosswalk will be a “ladder design” which is popular among local crosswalks. That style allows drivers to more easily adhere to the rules of the crosswalk, and if damaged, only the coloured stripes need repair, not a full solid chunk of coloured pavement.
“We’ve heard from the LGBTQ2S+ community and the greater Stratford community about how important a rainbow crosswalk is in Stratford and together with Sirkel Foods we will fundraising to install a new crosswalk”, says AJ Adams, President of Stratford-Perth Pride.
“The rainbow crosswalk means a lot to the LGTBQ2S+ community, myself and family,” adds Kelly Ballantyne, owner of Sirkel Foods and co-organizer of the crosswalk fundraising campaign, “I’m excited for it to get redone and shine bright in front of city hall again!”
The release shares that “the new design will still honour the representation of the progress flag. It will include the colours of the six-stripe Pride flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple), a pink and light blue stripe representing the trans community, and a black and brown stripe representing queer people of colour. White road paint will be placed at each end and the sides of the crosswalk for visual safety.”
For more information on the project and how to support it, visit http://stratfordperthpride.com/stratford-crosswalk.
