Rainbow crosswalks appear set to come to Atlanta
Splashes of color appear to be coming to Atlanta’s 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue with the installation of rainbow crosswalks.
Robert Sepúlveda, founder of RSJdesign, has been working with the city of Atlanta for nearly a year to find a way to mark the epicenter of LGBT Atlanta with the colors of the rainbow and it appears the project is about to be greenlit by city officials.
Sepúlveda, a frequent traveler, got the idea from seeing similar projects in other cit- ies. Rainbow crosswalks have been painted in cities including Seattle, Key West, Philadelphia, and the Castro in San Francisco.
“I saw the significant benefits it brought to the local community and I didn’t understand why Atlanta didn’t have one with such a big, diverse LGBT population,” he tells Georgia Voice.
Sepúlveda contacted the city of Atlanta last year with the proposal, hoping to get them in place before Atlanta Pride last October.
“There have been many hurdles and as you can imagine lots of red tape and city bureaucracy, but alas we are only one meeting away with the City of Atlanta’s Urban Design Commission for this project to be completely approved,” he says.
If the project is approved, Sepúlveda plans on collaborating with Joining Hearts to host fundraising benefits, as well as acquiring corporate and private sponsorships since the city of Atlanta does not pay for such projects.
The meeting was scheduled for August 5 and the results were not available as of press time.