A vibrant crosswalk painted in rainbow colours has popped up in downtown Timmins.
The Pride crosswalk is located on Third Avenue at the Pine Street South intersection.
An official celebration of the crosswalk will take place Monday, July 12, at 11 a.m.
According to the Downtown Timmins Business Improvement Area (BIA), Mayor George Pirie, the BIA president Jamie Roach, Fierté Timmins Pride president Matthieu Villeneuve and project originator Chrislynn Losier will be on hand to take the first walk in a "very original way."
Villeneuve said all the project’s planning and work were done by the Timmins BIA.
“It’s a very exciting thing. It’s something that the BIA decided to do, which is nice that it’s not always Timmins Pride that does all the work,” he said. “It’s nice to have such a visible piece of the community out there.”
According to Villeneuve, the crosswalk is expected to be permanent and will be repainted annually.
Villeneuve said the rainbow crosswalk is a great sign of acceptance and support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Timmins. When the group first started in 2014, having a rainbow crosswalk was a “pipe dream,” he said.
“It shows there has been a lot of progression,” Villeneuve said.
