Guelph rainbow crosswalk aims to make positive impact despite online backlash
Posted May 13, 2023 06:00:12 AM.
Last Updated May 12, 2023 06:32:01 PM.
The rainbow crosswalk set to be installed in Guelph later this month has been met with “overwhelmingly positive” feedback from the local community.
The city’s museums manager, Tammy Adkin, told CityNews that outside of Guelph, though, people haven’t had very nice things to say.
On Monday the City of Guelph shared their upcoming project on Twitter, but the next day had to turn off comments on the post due to the heavy amount of backlash that was part of over 1,000 quote tweets.
According to Adkins, the vast majority of negative comments were from the United States or other provinces in Canada.
“We know that locally there is great support for the rainbow crosswalk,” she said. “Guelph is a good community made up of good people who care about each other, who respect diversity, who are committed to inclusion.”
We’re installing a rainbow crosswalk this month and we want to hear what you need from us as a City to feel included, safe and celebrated in Guelph. Comments are anonymous. Let us know here by May 14: https://t.co/jFMOX1at1z pic.twitter.com/0u6MZurOcW
— City of Guelph (@cityofguelph) May 8, 2023
Adkin said the negativity emphasizes that it’s more important now than ever that the city shows their support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
“We’ve heard now firsthand some of the hate and rhetoric that members of our community are faced with,” she said. “That’s not acceptable in the City of Guelph. We are a welcoming, inclusive community where we take care of each other.”
The project, scheduled for the end of May, will be the first rainbow crosswalk installed by the City of Guelph. It will be located at the intersection of Gordon and Wilson Streets, which Adkin described as the gateway to downtown, near the farmer’s market and city hall.
