Salmon Arm mayor Nancy Cooper said it is very disappointing that someone damaged the city’s new rainbow crosswalk.
The city installed the crosswalk on 5 Street SW, near Blackburn Park, on July 18.
However, just a week later, on Wednesday morning, a city staff member noticed that someone had done a burnout on the crosswalk.
Because of the location of the burnout, Cooper believes the damage was deliberate.
“It is disappointing,” Cooper said. “The city wants to be inclusive.”
She said the idea for a rainbow crosswalk originally came from Salmon Arm high school students.
“We just want to be inclusive and our youth are going to be the future of this community,” Cooper said.
Salmon Arm Pride organizers are not letting the vandalism impact planned events in the city, with a dance scheduled for Saturday night.
“(The vandalism) is unfortunate,” said organizer Patrick Ryley. “But people only really attack things that are a representation of their own inner fears.”
City staff repainted the crosswalk on Thursday.
Many cities have installed rainbow crosswalks as symbols of inclusion for local LGBTQ+ communities.
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