The much-anticipated installation of rainbow-colored crosswalks at the intersection of 13th and Locust Streets in the Gayborhood was slated to be completed Wednesday night.
The painting was scheduled after a week of progress in the effort. Shortly after midnight June 20, the Streets Department began the process of scraping off several layers of asphalt, which took several days, in preparation for the painting.
“The rain over the past couple days slowed things down a little,” said Franny Price, executive director of Philly Pride Presents, which is organizing the effort. “But everything is still on schedule.”
Once the white crosswalks were removed, the street was smoothed and power-washed before painting began.
“You can see where they removed the old crosswalks and how it’s uneven. So they’re going to sand blast it next to smooth everything out,” Price said Wednesday morning.
It has also been decided that a “clear top” will be applied to the painted crosswalks to increase their longevity and reduce maintenance costs.
An unveiling ceremony and press conference will take place at 11:30 a.m. July 5, in conjunction with the Annual Reminder Day Block Party. Honored guests at the ceremony will include rainbow-flag creator Gilbert Baker and John James — a participant in the Annual Reminder Day protests, one of the nation’s earliest LGBT-rights demonstrations. Baker, James and other Reminder Day protesters will be among the first to walk across the crosswalks.
Plans for a second set of rainbow crosswalks at 12th and Locust Streets have been cancelled.
“We are going to see how things go with the first crosswalk,” Price said. “We’ll see what the actual maintenance end up being. Then we can come back to putting in a second one.”
The project, now two years in the making, is a collaborative effort between Philly Pride Presents and the city’s Streets and Public Property departments.