A rainbow-themed crosswalk was installed just north of downtown San Antonio. at the heart of San Antonio’s LGBT district, the intersection of Evergreen Street and Main Avenue.
The crosswalk features four six-color rainbow stripes with black and white borders. San Antonio's transportation and capital improvements department used a thermally applied plastic that’s expected to last three years. San Antonio is the second Texas city to feature a rainbow crosswalk after Houston, which installed one last year.
The project was announced last year, and funding was finally secured last month. District 1 Councilman Roberto Trevino said the city will pay $12,000 towards the final cost.
“We are paying the portion we would have to do legally as a crosswalk, but the portion that is part of the artistic interpretation as the rainbow is all privately funded,” he said.
About $19,000 was raised in those private donations — a portion, of which, came though the sale of a Fiesta medal that looked like the crosswalk. Rosie Gonzalez, a San Antonio attorney and LGBT activist, was one of the initial community members to help with the project. She says the rainbow is a covenant between God and his people.
“It’s a reminder that God is present ... that’s one of the messages,” she said. “There’s the message of diversity that you see in the very colors in the rainbow itself. Everyone has a different message to themselves and I think the biggest ones are love — unconditional love — and acceptance.”
Trevino says it’s more than a symbol, but is also a gesture “that says this is an inclusive compassionate community and it’s going to allow for this to open up more conversations about how we can create policies — more policies — to help protect people and their rights.”
The colored plastic used on the crosswalk is a few millimeters thick and is applied with heat. The white portion uses reflective material, which is required by law.
The crosswalk is a pilot program to test the effect of artistic crosswalks. “Part of the pilot is to understand what this means to traffic safety,” Trevino said.
Councilman @Trevino_D1 talks about the installation of the rainbow crosswalk. His office the led the push on city council with support from the LGBT community. The crosswalk is made of a thermally applied plastic and is estimated to last about three years. @TPRNews. pic.twitter.com/02BkE3DFjo
— Joey Palacios 😷 (@Joeycules) June 27, 2018
Lindsey Minarovic was eating lunch at a nearby restaurant and stopped by to see the installation.
“I want the LGBT folks in San Antonio to feel welcomed and loved and that we’re celebrating them and it’s pride month and I feel like this is the perfect way to celebrate that,” she said.
The installation is being completed in time for the city’s Pride parade on Saturday, which will run on the same street as the crosswalk.
Joey Palacios can be reached at joey@Ttpr.org and on Twitter at @joeycules