An appeal for a Pride crosswalk in View Royal has been shot down.
On Feb. 18, council voted to reject a motion calling for the installation of a rainbow crossing outside View Royal Elementary at the intersection of Helmcken and Rudyard roads. View Royal staff estimated the project would cost between $15,000 and $25,000.
Coun. Alison MacKenzie submitted the motion, which was informed by a 2024 discussion with the View Royal Elementary parent advisory council (PAC), during which the group encouraged the town to consider installing Pride crossings when refurbishing older crosswalks in the community, particularly around the school.
鈥淭hey identified that there was a need for traffic calming and safety in that area and that鈥檚 why their preferred option was the crosswalk across Rudyard,鈥� said MacKenzie, who later told the Goldstream Gazette that, from her experience, the Helmcken/Rudyard intersection is "very" busy with students walking to school and parents dropping off their kids.
The PAC noted it didn't specifically call for a crosswalk at the intersection.
"We did not ask for a crosswalk to be put in at Rudyard, but this was a suggestion along with the option of a Pride bench that was given back to the PAC after this discussion," the group's president Jocelyn Carter-Sim told the Gazette. "We are very much in support of the View Royal council considering putting in Pride crosswalks, but we are not driving this ask."
Coun. Damian Kowalewich argued a crossing might not be the best way to bolster safety outside the school.
鈥淚f there are concerns about traffic calming in the area, I would probably make the point that a Pride crosswalk would not be a remedy for that,鈥� he said.
Coun. Ron Mattson expressed a similar sentiment.
鈥淚 certainly agree with Damian that the Pride crosswalk won鈥檛 slow down traffic. If we need to slow down traffic there, we should find another way of doing that that鈥檚 effective,鈥� he said.
The crossing, however, is about more than slowing down cars, MacKenzie explained.
"By proposing to have a crosswalk close to the elementary school, my intention is to contribute towards a future generation where acceptance and tolerance is the norm," she said. "I would hope that this type of symbol in our town would signify to our LGBTQ+ community that we stand for equity and inclusion."
After council rejected the motion, Kowalewich, who noted he is in favour of diversity initiatives, submitted a motion calling on staff to conduct a "light" traffic study to assess whether a crosswalk would indeed improve safety outside of View Royal Elementary. It passed unanimously.
"If that's approved, we can discuss whether that's a Pride crosswalk at the time," he said.
