Pulse rainbow crosswalk bid wins support

Hundreds have signed an online petition to install crosswalks painted with the colors of the rainbow near the Pulse nightclub.

The petition on change.org says the rainbow crosswalks would “honor both the memory of the victims and the struggle of the survivors from the Pulse nightclub shooting.”

The petition, created by activist Noelle Bivens about a week ago, calls for the crosswalks to be painted at the intersection of South Orange Avenue and Kaley Street.

She said she got the idea after visiting the makeshift memorial outside Pulse with friends.

“I remember thinking: ‘California has a rainbow crosswalk in Castro. Orlando should have one too,’ ” said Bivens, 46.

After living in Orlando for 20 years, she spent a few years on the West Coast before moving back to Central Florida earlier this year.

The petition has had more success than she expected: More than 1,700 people have signed in less than a week.

“It’s really taken a own,” Bivens said.

“We were hoping to get a few hundred signatures after a couple life of its weeks. Next thing we knew, we had over 1,000.”

She said 80 percent of the signatures have come from people in Central Florida.

People who signed the petition left messages on the website such as, “I’m signing in memory of my brother and in honor of my friends” and, “Reminder that beauty and love lives.”

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s office is aware of the petition and has been looking into the idea of adding color and designs to Orlando’s crosswalks, said city spokeswoman Cassandra Lafser.

“We’ve been approached by a number of individuals and a handful of neighborhoods about putting artwork and paintings in the crosswalk,” she said.

The city also has been talking to the Florida Department of Transportation, which has final authority over crosswalk markings.

The cost of painting the crosswalks is not clear, but Bivens said that she hopes to raise money through community donations.

Rainbow crosswalks have been installed in other cities in support of gay rights.

On the one-year anniversary of the Pulse shootings, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced a plan to install a rainbow crosswalk in solidarity with the LGBTQ community.

The crosswalk cost $196,000 in public funding, according to the Georgia Voice, an LGBTQfocused newspaper.

Instead of paint, the Department of Public Works used thermoplastic, a durable pavement-marking material, said Christina Cruz-Benton, Reed’s spokeswoman.

Bivens hopes the idea a reality in Orlando.

“It could add an element beauty,” she said.

“It could be a public symbol of our city’s dedication to taking care of its LGBTQ community.” becomes of