Rainbow-Colored Crosswalks Mark Seattle LGBTQ Pride

Rainbow crosswalks are installed at 11 intersections in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

(Photo: Brian Westbrook / KING)

As Pride Week in Seattle gets under way, Mayor Ed Murray unveils newly painted rainbow-colored crosswalks on Capitol Hill. Rainbows have long dangled in windows of storefronts across Capitol Hill — and they now glisten on crosswalks, too.

Seattle is rolling out 11 rainbow crosswalks in Capitol Hill this week, adding a colorful bang to the annual Pride celebration. The crosswalks cost the city $66,000, said Seattle Department of Transportation spokesman Rick Sheridan, and are permanent. The funds came out of fees related to development, and the crosswalks were due for replacement anyway, Mayor Ed Murray said.

The city picked locations by working with community members to pinpoint heavily used streets and spots that have been sites of assault based on sexual orientation, Murray said.

“You can’t spread hate — spread love instead,” said Cainon Lewis, 25, who stopped to snap a selfie Tuesday with the crosswalk at 11th Avenue East and East Pike Street. “With the new spree of hate crimes going on, it sends a message that we’re open,” said Lewis.

Rainbow colors reflected in Capitol Hill resident Adam Warren’s glasses as he stood by a new rainbow crosswalk a block away.

“It reaffirms that we have a place in this neighborhood,” said Warren, 42.

All the crosswalks will be completed by Thursday night, Sheridan said. The city also is looking for ways to mark the character of other neighborhoods in the city, Murray said.

The Pride parade will be in downtown Seattle on Sunday at 11 a.m. For a list of all the festivities, go to seattlepride.org.

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