'Honour everyone': City adds transgender colours to crosswalks

The crosswalks at one of Charlottetown's busiest intersections are looking a lot more colourful. The city has painted them for the first time in the pink, blue and white colours representing the transgender community.

'We are part of the community'

Tom Steepe · CBC News · Posted: Jul 10, 2019 3:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: July 10, 2019

People, obsured from the waist up, are seen walking across a crosswalk that is painted with the colours of the transgender flag. — The painted crossings will remain for the rest of the summer. (Tom Steepe/CBC)

The crosswalks at one of Charlottetown's busiest intersections are looking a lot more colourful.

The city has painted them for the first time in the pink, blue and white colours representing the transgender community.

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Four crosswalks have been painted at the corners of Queen and Grafton streets as the province gets ready to celebrate 25 years of pride on P.E.I.

"The city has supported us other years with doing the pride flag colours, which we super appreciate as well," said Andrea MacPherson of Pride P.E.I.

"This year we really wanted to try and spread that diversity a bit, show the pride flag colours and trans flag colours and just bring more acknowledgement that pride is more than just the lesbian, gay and bi communities — that trans individuals are on the Island and they need representation as well."

'It represents visibility'

Advocates say painting the crosswalks in pride and transgender colours is an important statement for the city to show support for the LGBTQ community.

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"It represents allyship, it represents visibility," said Daniel Boudreau, chair of Pflag Canada P.E.I.

"It's a great opportunity for education."

MacPherson said the crossings are important symbols of human rights and gender diversity and hopes they will get people to ask questions.

City officials and members of the LGBTQ community use a crosswalk painted in pink, blue and white colours of the transgender flag at the corner of Queen St. and Grafton St. (Tom Steepe/CBC)

"There are other people in this world who are different than us," MacPherson said.

"Everyone deserves the right to be happy, to find love and to have all the rights that every Canadian and everyone in the world deserves."

'Celebrate and honour everyone'

"It is just the right thing," added Coun. Alanna Jankov.

"Everyone has the right to love who they want and be who they want and be expressive and be free and safe. I'm just proud to be part of a city that's so inclusive."

The painted crossings will remain for the rest of the summer.

P.E.I.'s Pride Parade is set for July 27 and organizers say it's going to be the largest ever.

"We've got more events than we've had other years," MacPherson said. "Love comes in all shapes, all forms and we want to celebrate and honour everyone."