To the Editors,
I have some concerns regarding Pride crosswalks. The first is the safety aspect. There is a Pride crosswalk in Brantford on Colbourne. Just last week, I was driving along at about 48km/hr, when all of a sudden there’s a flash of colour that comes up on the road ahead of me, then under my car, and flashes in my peripheral view, causing me to turn my head to look to see what I just ran over. As my eyes make their way back to the road in front of me, I see the stop sign that I’m about to blow through, slam on my brakes, and come to a stop halfway through the intersection as some teenage girls cross the road in front of me. Roads are for driving on, not for public statements that could cause the death of someone else.
Which segues into the next concern: if we allow a Pride crosswalk and the taxpayers pay for it, will we be required to allow and pay for every cause a taxpayer brings forward? Will we be allowing and paying for an Every Child Matters crosswalk, or a Simcoe Voice For Life crosswalk, or a Simcoe and District Humane Society crosswalk, or a Prostate Health crosswalk, or a Breast Cancer Awareness crosswalk? The list goes on and on of organizations, people groups, causes, and businesses that want to be supported and celebrated by taxpayers. If we allow one group to paint the roadways, it will set a precedent for every other group that wants to be acknowledged. Soon I’ll be blowing every stop sign in Haldimand-Norfolk because every road will be covered end to end in distracting paint.
On a lighter note, if painted crosswalks are allowed, I call dibs on the intersection of Highway 24 and 3 in Simcoe and Highway 6 and 3 in Jarvis for my business! I can picture it now: Gypzy’s Labrador Retrievers in four-foot lettering with a 10×30-foot picture of a rainbow litter of black, chocolate, yellow, fox red, and white pups. If nothing else, drivers will be smiling ear to ear as they run into each other!
Lily Eggink,
Dunnville
