Permanent Rainbow Crosswalks Will Be Done by End of October

The permanent rainbow crosswalks spanning San Vicente Boulevard at Santa Monica Boulevard will be installed by the end of October if not sooner.

“We will be in by Halloween,” Steve Campbell, the city’s manager of Facilities and Field Services, told Weho Patch. “We hope to have it done before AIDS Walk [on October 14].”

The were originally intended to be temporary for Gay Pride month in June. However due to their popularity, at its part of the Boystown section of town. The Council said the crosswalks will help with marketing the city as an LGBT tourist destination.

The colored thermoplastic markings for the crosswalks are being custom made to match the six colors of the gay-pride rainbow flag, Campbell explained. Once those colored markings are delivered, the city will regrade the crosswalks and install the thermoplastic markings.

All work will be done late night on weeknights to minimalize traffic tie-ups.

The permanent markings will be easier to clean and more resistant to fading, Campbell said. Some residents have criticized the temporary crosswalks, which were painted with a non-durable paint, because the paint has faded and shows dirt and skidmarks.

People wondering what will happen to the existing crosswalk bricks once the upgrade is completed will be surprised to learn they are not bricks at all.

“They are embossed asphalt painted to look like bricks,” Campbell said. “When they lay the asphalt, they impress it in the shape of bricks. Then they paint it a red brick color.”

The estimated cost to upgrade the crosswalks is $67,364. The estimated cost to temporarily paint the crosswalks was $13,000.