While it likely won’t be ready in time for Pride, there are plans in the works to paint a significant portion of a downtown Renfrew sidewalk in pride colours.
Council heard from Chris Kyte of Renfrew Pride and Jill Holroyd of Pflag Renfrew County at the Tuesday, May 10th meeting, where they signed on in support of a proposal from Reeve Peter Emon and Councilor Tom Sidney to paint a portion of Railway Avenue’s sidewalk and the town library’s steps in the colours of the LGBTQ+ progressive flag.
The progressive flag incorporates the traditional “Rainbow” flag with a chevron incorporating other pride flags, such as the transgender flag.
Kyte revealed that she had originally wanted to propose a progressive flag crosswalk downtown but learned of the sidewalk plan in the works, which led to conversations with the Councilor and Reeve. She added that the completed sidewalk project would lead to further conversations on the matter of Pride, as well as teachable moments about tolerance, acceptance and inclusion.
Reeve Emon noted the final result would be a visually appealing and meaningful show of support in a high traffic area in downtown Renfrew, while Councilor Sidney added that decorating the sidewalk in the colours of the progressive pride flag would also protect them from tire burnouts or other damaging acts that could happen with a traditional pride crosswalk.
Council approved work to be done alongside Renfrew Pride towards a finalized version of the motion from Councilor Sidney and Reeve Emon, which is expected to be heard at an upcoming council meeting.
(written by Kasey Egan)
