After two years of work, LaSalle is getting its first rainbow crosswalk.
It'll be in front of the Zehrs Market Superstore on Malden Road.
Rainbow crosswalk (Photo by Miranda Chant)
The crosswalk will be in the parking lot leading up to the store's front doors, signifying the company and the community's commitment to inclusiveness.
Initially, Nancy Campana and Brenda Bot Drake hoped it would be on municipal property. However, when that process proved arduous, they found an ally in Zehrs, where Bot Drake works.
Campana acknowledges some will be disappointed the crosswalk isn't on municipal property but said it means a lot when a private company expresses its support.
"It is an area where people have to go slow. I mean, there's people crossing that crosswalk every day," she explained. "There's cameras there. There have been incidents of vandalism on some of these crosswalks, so we just feel that the investment is a little safer there."
Campana and Bot Drake are getting quotes for the work now and hope to open it in time for Pride Month in June.
Campana has been fighting to improve education around LGBTQ+ issues for ten years and founded Run for Rocky in honour of her son, who passed away at 23. The fundraiser raised more than $300,000 between 2013 and 2017.
Rainbow crosswalks have popped up in cities and towns across the country. While most are on municipal property, Campana knows of just three Windsor-Essex. The other two are on the campus at the University of Windsor.
"London, Ontario has had them going into their municipal buildings since 2016. There's a lot of small towns in Ontario that have rainbow crosswalks," she said.
The crosswalks spur conversation about inclusiveness in the community and encourage education.
"I've been working as an advocate and an ally for well over ten years in this community, and I'm still learning," Campana admitted.
She's also working on a new logo that businesses and residents can display in their windows to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community. Campana hopes to launch that campaign this spring.