Waterloo working to restore damaged rainbow crosswalk

Crews work to clean a rainbow crosswalk in the City of Waterloo that was streaked with tire marks. (City of Waterloo/Twitter)

Crews in Waterloo are working to remove tire marks from a rainbow crosswalk on Willis Way.

On Friday, the city posted a tweet showing crews out with pressure washers working to clean the crosswalk.

“There is no place for hate in Waterloo,” the tweet said. “Crews have been working hard to clean things up and give the crosswalk a fresh shine for now, with a full restoration coming soon.”

In an email to CTV News, the city said the damage was first reported by a resident on Wednesday.

“Before cleaning, the tire marks were solid black rubber burnout marks,” the city said. “Two lines across the rainbow, and several that began in the centre of the rainbow.”

The city added: "The crosswalk is a thermal plastic that is heated on the underside and glued down. It’s not normal road paint, so this interim cleaning is an immediate way to address, while transportation determines the best option for full cleaning."

Waterloo regional police say the incident was not reported to police, however, their Equity, Diversity and Inclusion unit has reached out to the City of Waterloo to offer support.

Anyone with information is being encouraged to contact police.

This is not the first time the crosswalk has been damaged by tire marks.

The day after it was unveiled, the crosswalk was allegedly defaced with what appeared to be a black streak from the tire of a vehicle.