A crosswalk becomes a pathway, providing a bridge for the community

A finished rainbow crossing now in
place in Cow Bay
(photo from #PrinceRupert twitter feed)

Prince Rupert's Rainbow Crosswalk plan morphed into a larger project yesterday, as volunteers took advantage of a sun filled Tuesday afternoon and evening to lay down some rainbow colouring on the Cow Bay Bridge pedestrian deck.

The project which was first proposed in June of 2015, has been the topic of a fair bit of attention over the year as the calendar pages flipped over with no paint finding its way to pavement.

However, once organizers settled on the new plan, things seem to have moved fairly quickly, with the only obstacle in the way being the recent month of less that stellar painting weather.

Still, with a sunny day perfect for painting arriving for the North Coast the painting team quickly got to work, providing for a finished project just in time for the City's annual Seafest celebrations.

As the project got underway Tuesday, photos quickly appeared through twitter, Instagram, Facebook and a string of other social media options, all taking note of the work as the paint hit the deck and the rainbow colours marked a new path across the slough between Cowpuccino's and Breakers.

Both the City of Prince Rupert twitter feed
and that of Mayor Lee Brain featured the 
Rainbow painting project in Cow Bay on Tuesday

CBC's Daybreak North program offered up some background to the revised project earlier in the day yesterday, as organizer Christine Danroth provided some notes on the day's painting project and outlined some of the challenges that have taken place in the year since the project to bring attention to the LGBT community in Prince Rupert was first suggested.

The interview highlights how the decision to shift from a crosswalk to a pathway came to pass, with Prince Rupert's at times less than comfortable weather also staking a claim when it came to some of the thinking to providing for a permanent crossing way.

You can listen to that interview from the DayBreak North audioboom feed

The bridge, while perhaps a little off the preferred path of community and visitor traffic of Cow Bay in a way seems a quite appropriate way of showcasing some of the diversity found in the community.

When it comes to symbols of progress, there is really no better way to bring sides together than to work on a bridge. Tuesday, a large group of community volunteers did just that, completing the year long mission towards that goal.

Fundraising towards the project will continue this weekend as organizers and the Wheelhouse Brewery host a Saturday evening event as part of the Seafest Beer Gardens at the local brewery in Cow Bay up the hill from the Atlin Terminal.

The Beer Gardens event takes place from 2 -10 PM and is for those 19 years of age and over.