Rainbow crosswalk in Cambridge painted over

The rainbow crosswalk in Cambridge that was accidentally painted over. (Stef Davis/CTV News)

The City of Cambridge says a rainbow crosswalk at Wellington and Dickson streets was painted over in error.

According to the City of Cambridge, the crosswalk – which is seen as a show of support for LGBTQ2S+ people – was painted over by an external contractor in error, and work would begin to restore the rainbow crosswalk Wednesday night.

“Certainly it took staff and council by surprise this morning. Unfortunately, as our staff were reviewing some of the work that went on last night in terms of line painting and road painting they came across where the contractor had inadvertently covered our rainbow crosswalk,” Hardy Bromberg, City of Cambridge deputy city manager of community development said. “Certainly what I think is really important here is that I want to apologize to our community for any hurt that we may have caused. It certainly is no reflection of how the team or the city here feels and we’re working hard with the contractor to rectify this to our 2SLGBTQ+ community.”

The painting over happened the night before the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

The city said the contractor will cover all costs related towards bringing back the rainbow crosswalk as it once was.

“Certainly again I’d like to reiterate – because I think myself and staff certainly want to apologize to our community for any hurt that we may have caused. Certainly, it was completely unintentional but we do feel a bit of the pain and I think it’s up to us and the onus is on us and staff to ensure that we get this rectified as soon as possible,” Bromberg said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the City of Cambridge said in part: “This situation came as a surprise to both staff and Council and is in no way reflective of how the City feels about the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Regardless of responsibility, we are deeply sorry that this has occurred.”

“We look forward to refreshing our rainbow crosswalk as our continued show of support and acceptance for the LGBTQIA+ community in time for Pride Month in June,” the city said in a tweet on Wednesday.

According to the city, the crosswalk was painted in November of 2020.

“Extensive public consultation took place to better understand the community’s collective vision and determine the most appropriate location for the rainbow crosswalk,” the city said at the time. “The intersection at Dickson Street and Wellington Street was chosen in part for its visibility in downtown Cambridge and proximity to City Hall, incorporating inclusive values into our civic spaces.”

By Thursday morning, the rainbow crosswalk had been restored.

The rainbow crosswalk at the corner of Wellington and Dickson streets in Cambridge is seen on May 18, 2023. (Daniel Caudle/CTV Kitchener)