Rainbow crosswalk approved in Chatham

A rainbow crosswalk will be installed in Chatham, after a motion supporting the LGBTQ community in Chatham-Kent, was approved on Monday night.

The crosswalk will be installed at King Street and Second Street in Chatham, after Chatham Coun. Brock McGregor’s motion was approved by a 10-7 vote.

McGregor told the Sydenham Current he brought the “community-driven initiative” forward after Chatham-Kent Pride approached him a few months ago.

“As we try to move our community forward we look at our population challenges and we talk about resident attraction and retention, Chatham-Kent has a lot of great qualities,” he said.

“We’ve got affordable housing, we have really high quality of life indexes and we really market ourselves and say you can have a great lifestyle for less financial commitment here than you could in say the GTA. We are responsible to show that we do have everything that they have in other communities and part of that is an inclusive and welcoming environment.”

McGregor added: “So I think by demonstrating that we’re inclusive of the LGBTQ community is important when we’re trying to demonstrate that we really are open to anyone who wants to call Chatham-Kent home.”

The crosswalk, which will require specialized paint, will cost approximately $8,000. With about $6,000 being covered by the province through the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit, the community would be responsible to come up with about $2,000 to cover costs, reports say.

McGregor tweeted after Monday’s meeting that the tab was already covered.

Before the end of the meeting community members had already emailed me with pledges totally 2k – thanks #ckont

— Brock McGregor (@brockmcgregor) 21 November 2017

McGregor says there is a number similar crosswalks in communities internationally, the closest being in London, Ontario.

“C-K Pride has worked hard for many years to gain more acceptance for the LGBTQ community in our Municipality. It’s really in recognition of that hard work and how far we have come,” he said.

The project also be “a marker of how far we have to go.

“There is still significant challenges that members of the LGBTQ communities face… whether it is in their own family, at their places of employment or school. I think it’s appropriate that the Municipality demonstrates that we are an ally in that journey, which leads to a more inclusive community,” he said.

McGregor said his goal is to have the permanently installed rainbow crosswalk in place by the spring or summer of 2018.

– Featured photo credit: Pride London Festival, Facebook

– Inset photo credit: Municipality of Chatham-Kent