LA: West Hollywood approves rainbow street crossings for June
The local council for the West Hollywood area of Los Angeles has approved a measure to paint a street crossing in rainbow colours for the month of June.
The intersection of San Vicente Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard will be painted the rainbow colors for the rest of this month in celebration of the city’s gay and transgender community.
Martin Duvander, the artist behind the bid to colour the street crossing said: “The idea was simple; I see those white crosswalk as an empty canvas and saw an opportunity; paint them and make a statement!”
The motion said: “Our City, since its incorporation, has proudly flown the rainbow flags down Santa Monica Boulevard as a symbol to the world that we are different, that we are accepting, that we, the City of West Hollywood, embrace our diversity.”
“To strengthen that message, the City Council should consider painting the [intersection at San Vincente and Santa Monica Boulevards] not just for a couple hours, or for the weekend of LGBT Pride, but for the entire month of June in rainbow colours.
“This intersection, in the heart of one of the most iconic areas for the LGBT community, serves as the entrance to the CSW Pride Festival. The painting of rainbow crosswalks would serve as a creative and unique gateway to Pride activities in West Hollywood. The visibility of this installation would be very high profile and likely attract interest across the country, not just in the colorful crosswalk improvement, but as a message in how this city, West Hollywood embraces and celebrates their Pride in their residents and visitors.”
The estimated cost of painting, maintaining and cleaning up the rainbow crossings for the month was not to exceed $12,920.
