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Pavement Paint Makes Statement in CA

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

A little paint can help communities make powerful statements.

Just ask the City of West Hollywood, CA.

In June, the city decorated two of its crosswalks using bright red, yellow, green, blue and purple paint in honor of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride month. The colors are those in the LGBT rainbow flag.

City of West Hollywood

Rainbow-colored crosswalks will now be a permanent fixture on the City of West Hollywood landscape.

Now, the response to the public art and the influx in tourism has led city officials to make the installation permanent along Santa Monica and San Vicente Boulevards.

Painting an Impact

The city called the new crosswalks “a creative and unique gateway to LGBT activities in West Hollywood.”

“The landmark Rainbow Crosswalks emphasize the core branding of West Hollywood, and will be a permanent symbol to all that this is a city of tolerance and acceptance,” said Mayor Jeffrey Prang.

“Since the temporary installation, the crosswalks have not only gained tremendous positive attention from around the world, but not a day goes by that we don’t see hoards of tour buses slowing down to snap photos of the new landmark.”

He added, “This alone will have a tremendous impact on tourism and further establish West Hollywood as a LGBT vacation destination.”

From Temporary to Permanent

To make the installation permanent, the city will install new asphalt and skid-resistant thermoplastic pavement markings. The color application began Monday (Oct. 1) and was expected take a couple of days to complete.

The estimated cost to upgrade the rainbow is $67,364, according to reports. The estimated cost for the initial application was $13,000.

The proprietary thermo-plastic technology used for the permanent project was developed by Shariden Design Asphalt of Alpine, CA. The company says it offers a complete line of decorative paving products with the benefits of ordinary asphalt.

Steve Klasna, president of Shariden Design Asphalt, said the project would rival the company’s other creations at Sea World, the City of Los Angeles, and the San Diego Zoo.

The crosswalks already have their own Twitter hashtag: #WEHOrainbow.

Comment from John Fauth, (10/3/2012, 12:51 PM)

I wonder how the legal environment might respond if a cross walk was painted in the colors of the Catholic Church, or NRA. Would there be enough duct tape in the world to keep their heads from exploding?

Comment from Brian Adams, (10/4/2012, 8:12 AM)

WTF!!!