Seattle mayor unveils rainbow crosswalks in Capitol Hill neighborhood.

[pnwmom]

While we're all talking about the symbolism of the Confederate flag, I thought people might be interested in a different kind of symbolism -- the rainbow crosswalks the city recently painted in a popular Seattle neighborhood.

http://mynorthwest.com/11/2776713/Seattles-mayor-unveils-rainbow-crosswalks-painted-on-Capitol-Hill?google_editors_picks=true

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray unveiled rainbow crosswalks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood early Tuesday morning.

The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog reports the LGBTQ community has been working on the symbolic effort for years.

The rainbows were installed Monday night at six intersections on Pine and Pike streets.

The city said the project cost about $66,000. The crosswalks are expected to last three to five years, but the city said it plans to maintain them for years to come.

SNIP

[Travis_0004]

1. I have to wonder if 66,000 could have been spent better elsewhere.

[ismnotwasm]

2. Nope

I'm very excited, it's awesome symbolism.

[pnwmom]

9. It's actually 56K more than white crosswalks and it was paid for out of

developers fees, which needed to be spent locally. Public art is a part of the municipal budget here, and I'm sure this qualifies. And given the stress that all the recent high-end development has been putting on what has been traditionally Seattle's "gayborhood," it was a VERY good use of the money.

Long term gay residents are being forced out by high rents, and crimes against gay people by outsiders drawn to the neighborhood's busy "night life" have been increasing. These crosswalks serve as a strong, visual reminder of the LGBT community's traditional safe haven in Capitol Hill.

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2015/06/not-one-more-march-strikes-back-at-anti-queer-violence-on-capitol-hill/

[ismnotwasm]

12. Thank you

[pnwmom]

18. Thank YOU!

[snooper2]

32. I'll take that gig, 11K per intersection....

Some quality tape, some good paint, Lowes mixes colors for free...

I want that job LOL

[KamaAina]

3. SF's Ed Lee must be kicking himself

for not doing it in the Castro first!

[ismnotwasm]

5. Heh!

I'm so proud of my city!

[Prism]

21. I think we have something like this in Castro

Granted, it's always dark when I'm there and am not entirely . . . non-alcoholically perceptive, but I'm pretty sure there's rainbow something or other on the street.

Ah ha! There is:

https://www.google.com/search?q=castro+rainbow+crosswalk&espv=2&biw=1218&bih=697&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=NDWLVZPFNMfYoASImrfwAg&ved=0CB0QsAQ

[pnwmom]

23. Cool! Yup, that looks very rainbow-ish to me, too!

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. pictures

?filter=mynw/620wide

?filter=mynw/620wide

[ismnotwasm]

7. It's more that "painting a few sidewalks"

It's a liberating symbolism of the end of hate. Well worth it.

[ismnotwasm]

10. Jesus.

The Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County provides a blueprint for how the region will work together to confront the issues that cause homelessness, and create housing and supportive services needed to end homelessness. The City of Seattle is a leader and one of three major funders of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County and the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness, along with King County and United Way of King County.

The Ten-Year Plan emerged as an idea in 2004, when a broad-based coalition of more than 30 leaders representing United Way of King County, businesses, faith-based communities, housing and human services organizations, homeless people and governments, came together to confront this serious issue. The plan, completed in the spring of 2005, seeks to end homelessness, not just help people live in homelessness. In addition to the more than 18 municipalities who have endorsed the Ten-Year Plan, more than 140 organizations and churches operate housing and service programs aligned with the strategies of the Ten-Year Plan, or have otherwise endorsed the plan.

http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/emergencyservices/tenyearplan.htm

The city of Seattle spends about $40 million to help prevent homelessness, and in 2006 Seattle has since been adding $6 million more in general funding resources. The Seattle city has helped pay for 215 housing units in Seattle. 288 are currently under construction and planned to open by 2011.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Seattle

You want to talk about homelessness in GBLTQ youth?

[mntleo2]

19. As a Seattle homeless advocate I know Hon ...

...and as you say LGBTQ housing ~ indeed all affordable housing ~ is beyond a crisis in Seattle. But I will tell you that this small $66,000 symbol of acceptance is also a good thing. I wish we did not have to choose whether to see something as fabulous as these crosswalks or housing for those in a city whose housing costs are spiraling out of control and if I could choose I am not sure what I would choose.

To me the $40 Million they spent for 215 homes taking over 10 years to do it is something that should be questioned ~ $186,000 for a 2 bdrm apartment that will fetch at least $1Mil in rental income during that time? Come on!

My 2 cents ~ and I so love you for seeing the suffering so many weep over every day!

Love, Cat in Seattle
Lake City Homeless Coalition
Also board member of POWER http://www.mamapower.org

[ismnotwasm]

20. I know

I remember the "Nickelsville's" -- a Sadly hilarious name for it. The funding for this isn't going to affect our current housing crisis, but it is continuing problem in Seattle. Thank you for the link

[LanternWaste]

14. Or rather than someone else telling them that, you could invite them into your house and serve them

Or rather than someone else telling them that, you could invite a homeless person into your home and serve them a nice dinner.

(insert justification below as to why it's not feasible for you to do so)

[pnwmom]

15. This money came from developers' fees and couldn't be shifted to feeding the hungry. n/t

[pnwmom]

16. Why don't you pass your opinions on to the LGBT people in the neighborhood who have,

as their neighborhoods has become increasingly gentrified, been more and more the targets of hate crimes? Outsiders come to have fun at the night clubs and bars, and then attack the LGBT people they cross paths with in the neighborhood.

These crosswalks are a visible reminder of Capitol Hill's long history of being a safe haven for LGBT people.

[pnwmom]

13. They are crosswalks and the true cost was the difference between these

and what it would have cost to paint white ones -- so $56K. And the money came from developer fees -- helping to mitigate the effect of the development on the neighborhood. The local LGBT community has been greatly -- and negatively -- affected by recent development and this is a project they've long been working for.

[NCTraveler]

11. K&R.

This is great symbolic and very public display. People are being beaten, killed, and relentlessly attacked. It is great to see such a public display of support. These acts do make a difference. Not just in short term symbolism.

[RGinNJ]

17. Along with the brass dance steps in the sidewalks...

I think this is great!

[47of74]

22. I would love to have something like these where I live in Iowa

A) To show support for my LGBTQ brothers and sister.
B) To piss off all the local right wingers.

[Snobblevitch]

24. While I am in favor of supporting

the GLBT community, I think there are better places for it. I do not think a street should be made to look like a place to play. I also would not wish to see traffic signs painted in a symbolic manner. I think traffic safety is more important than symbolism. Let the flaming begin.

[pnwmom]

25. In Seattle we have prominent crosswalks everywhere and unlike in some cities,

people here really respect them. No one views them as places to play OR as places where cars are encouraged to nudge slow walkers.

[ismnotwasm]

26. We are quirky that way

We like art intrinsic to community, I think --the Hammering man, the Statue of Lenin, of course the Troll, all the way to the brass pig at the market. As another poster mentioned, the dance steps have been up on Capital hill for years, the sidewalks are a nice addition just from the aspect alone.

(I'm hoping to see an increase in street art as well)

[pnwmom]

28. Yup! I remember being so amazed, a long time ago, to see how polite most of the drivers are,

and how careful they are at the crosswalks.

The complete opposite of drivers in Manhattan, for example, who think that it's their job to push pedestrians out of the crosswalks.

[Snobblevitch]

27. The colors painted on the street

in the photo I saw does not resemble a crosswalk and looks more like artwork to me. I believe there many places for art work and symbolism, but public roadways shouldn't be one of them.

[pnwmom]

29. They DO resemble the crosswalks we have HERE, except most of ours are painted in white stripes

and these stripes are colored.

But no Seattle driver would have trouble identifying them as crosswalks.

[Snobblevitch]

31. Seattle is concerned with symbolism

but they have a statue of Lenin.

[pnwmom]

33. Yeah, so?

We have no statute of Stalin.

[Snobblevitch]

35. I don't know what the laws are in Seattle, I've never had the need to check them.

Lenin was the first leader of the Soviet Union. If you don't see any negative symbolism in a statue of Lenin in Seattle, or anywhere else, then there is nothing I can do to help you.

[ismnotwasm]

36. What does that have to do with Rainbow crosswalks anyway?

You should see how the Lenin statue gets decorated sometimes. Not everyone loves it.

Anyway, background

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Lenin,_Seattle

[Snobblevitch]

40. "What does that have to do with Rainbow crosswalks anyway?"

Symbolism. I thought I made that clear.

[ismnotwasm]

42. The symbolism of a Lenin Statue in the district of Fremont

And the symbolism of rainbow-colored crosswalks on Capital Hill?

Definitely not from Seattle.

Fremont, among many other things has a Solstice run with naked participants and signs declaiming Fremont is "The Center of the Known Universe" it has a number of popular public artworks.

Capital hill has a different vibe with funky-cool shops and resturants as well as a popular community college and his long been to be a "safe" haven for the Gay community to settle. The crosswalks symbolize a rejection of hate and hate crimes.

[Snobblevitch]

44. I don't care where the statue is.

My objections have nothing to do with Seattle specifically. The fact that it exists anywhere anymore is troublesome.

[ismnotwasm]

56. No it isn't

[pnwmom]

37. Thank you for proving that the term "Socialist" will scare away even many Democratic voters.

But most people in Seattle know the difference between Lenin and Stalin.

[Snobblevitch]

39. I have proven nothing, at least not intentionally,

since my objection is not about socialism (although the USSR was a failed attempt at socialism).

[pnwmom]

41. Here's something else you don't understand about Seattle.

We enjoy symbolism, but we also enjoy a sense of humor. And sometimes they actually go together, especially with that statue of Lenin.

We didn't ask for the statue, but it came to us, and then we figured out how to use it. We have fun with it. It gets decorated. Lights get strung on it, and other things.

You might even approve, if you saw some of the things the poor statue has had to put up with.

[Snobblevitch]

43. I did some reading about that statue.

It does not appear that the way the statue is treated has anything to do with attempts to put down Lenin and the USSR. That statue happens to be Lenin and people have decided to dress it up.

[pnwmom]

45. Yes, people have decided to dress it up. As John Lennon (the Beatle), as a clown, and in drag. (Not all at once.)

Apparently you don't see the humor in that. Probably you shouldn't ever visit Seattle.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Lenin,_Seattle

[Snobblevitch]

46. Yes, I don't see the humor

in glorifying the image of a man such as Lenin.

As for visiting, I've been to Seattle once before. I am sure there is plenty to see, but there are so many other places to visit so it is not likely, unless I get there on business.

[pnwmom]

47. How is dressing him as a Beatle, a clown, and in drag "glorifying" him? I'm sure that wasn't the

intent of the dressers. In fact, I'm sure their intent was the opposite of glorification.

[Snobblevitch]

49. Because it's there.

I highly doubt the reason the statue is being dressed is because it is a statue of Lenin. It could be anybody. Except for Belarus, I'm pretty sure all of the statues of Lenin were removed in most of the former Soviet Republics. I've been to a couple of them and I didn't see any statues of Lenin. EOM

[pnwmom]

50. We have a statue of a cow, too. Are we glorifying the cow? And not far from

the Lenin statue, in the same neighborhood of Fremont, we have this lovely thing:

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/roadside-statues18.htm

Are we glorifying trolls, too?

[cemaphonic]

54. This is in fact, one such statue

It was built and installed in Czechoslovakia just before the Velvet Revolution.

[cemaphonic]

53. It's a self-aware joke mostly

Fremont is liberal even by Seattle standards, so they get lots of "Republic of Fremont" type jokes. On top of that, the history of the statue is that it was commissioned and installed in Czechoslovakia right before the Velvet Revolution, and quickly dismantled afterwards, eventually turning up in Seattle. Using what was meant to be an enduring historical monument for some kitschy street art isn't exactly an endorsement of the Soviet Union.

[Snobblevitch]

57. This is my last post on the topic.

This thread is about symbolism. I never said anything about endorsement.

[cemaphonic]

30. These are busy high-traffic streets with stoplights.

Nobody's going to mistake them for a playground.

[Zorra]

38. I think it's beautiful.

[Hekate]

34. KnR! How uplifting

[nolabear]

48. Happy Seattle Pride! It's an actual celebration here. Those crosswalks are really cool.

One of the nice things about Seattle is its pride, not just in being LGBTQ-Friendly, but in being forward thinking. It's not without its issues; there are hate crimes perpetrated on gay folks on Capitol Hill (I happen to live there btw) but in general the city and the citizens are on the progressive, optimistic side of things.

People are very respectful of crosswalks here. We joke that we stand on an empty corner at 3 am rather than cross against the light. And we do have a quirky sense of public art. I'd FAR rather have some affirmative and useful way of spending the money than something that people can't relate to or enjoy.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

51. Hmm, not what I was expecting.

I was thinking it would be more like the Beatles' album cover zebra crossing, but with a different colour to each of the white lines. It looks more like something out of the Wizard of Oz the way it is.

[pnwmom]

52. This is what an LGBT group in the "Emerald City" planned.

It works for Seattleites.

[cemaphonic]

55. I miss living on Capitol Hill at times

I like having a bit more living space, but I miss having so many great shops and restaurants in walking distance.