UPDATED JULY 22, 2022
And that's a wrap! Newport Pride finished their second and third rainbow crosswalks to complete the triangle 🔼 along Equality Park. Huge thanks to all the volunteers that support us and continue to show up! And to the Newport Police Department for helping us coordinate road closures and keep everyone safe as we paint.
📍Rainbow crosswalks are located in Newport, RI 02840 at:
Outside Parlor Newport, 200 Broadway
Outside PDQ, 176 Broadway
Outside Nitro Bar, 2 Pond Ave
Special thanks to The Fitzpatrick Team at Remax for sponsoring the paint and Aardvark Antiques, and Francis Malbone House Inn for supporting all the supplies for painting.
And Nitro Bar for providing yummy coffee for volunteers and being one of the best neighbors we can have.
UPDATED JULY 19, 2022
On June 21, Newport Pride installed Rhode Island & Newport's first ever permanent rainbow crosswalk outside Parlor Newport. On July 20, we will install two additional ones at the other corners of Equality Park. These crosswalks were designed for pedestrian safety AND as symbols of embracing diversity and inclusivity in Newport, RI, specifically towards the LGBTQIA+ community.
The Pride organization led the project, supported by Newport Councilors Angela McCalla and Charlie Holder and city manager Joe Nicholson, who gave initial approval for this work. City councilor McCalla took the lead on writing a resolution for three rainbow crosswalks in the Equality Park, where Newport Pride started, to be approved by the City of Newport.
This project was sponsored by:
~ The Fitzpatrick Team at Remax
~ Other donors to Newport Pride
With the support of:
~ Members of Newport Pride committee and local community members
~ Local Businesses that supported our petition
~ The Newport Police Department
~ Sue McNally from Newport Public Art
~ Karen Conway from Jamestown Art Center
~ Nycole Marvelous from Newport Art House
The paint was bought from Franklin Paints in Franklin, Massachusetts.
After a month of installing the first rainbow crosswalk, we received this photo from this beautiful newlywed couple (see above) who selected the crosswalk as one of their wedding photoshoot spots.
Video created by Sea Mount Media thanks to The Fitzpatrick Team at Remax.
LAST UPDATE MAY 25, 2022
Newport City Council APPROVED Rainbow Crosswalks installations in Newport! Next is our meeting on May 31 with the city to go over details and the installation date. Stay tuned!
Are you a Newport resident or business owner? Sign our letter of support calling for rainbow crosswalks installation in Newport. We need your voice on this!
UPDATED MAY 13, 2022
Hi all, there's a city council meeting on May 25 where city councilor Angela McCalla will introduce a resolution to be approved by the city. We need as much support as we can get on that day. We have already met with city Councilors Angela McCalla and Charlie Holder and city manager Joe Nicholson who gave initial approval for this work.
Did you catch the coverage of the progress happening for our Rainbow Crosswalk installations in Newport? Check it out from Newport This Week below.
Newport Pride Proposes Rainbow Crosswalks (Newport This Week)
How to help?
Show up at the meeting on Wednesday, May 25, at Newport City Hall, 43 Broadway, to show your support starting at 6 pm.
Write/Call your councilors expressing your support for the crosswalks.
Write/Call the News Paper to voice your support as well.
Crosswalks designed for pedestrian safety AND as symbols of embracing diversity and inclusivity?. Sign us up! The team at Newport Pride has been dreaming of rainbow crosswalks gracing the streets of our city, and nary a month goes by without us seeing a new installation highlighted somewhere in the U.S. in towns and cities small and large. Check out our running list below of places that have recently added rainbow crosswalks to their streets.
These images represent rainbow crosswalk installations in cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, Chicago, Portland (Oregon), Ames (Iowa), Plymouth (Massachusetts), and elsewhere.
Rainbow crosswalks are also another form of public art, and we’ve been so excited and inspired lately by the work of NPT Public Art commissioning and installing murals across the city and others like Parlor owner Kristen Mashaw who enlisted the help of artist Chris Wyllie to design and install a new fabulous mural visible from Broadway.
But where?!
Where should Newport install rainbow crosswalks? We are proposing three installations right off-Broadway, leading to Equality Park! These would be more embedded in a residential part of town, but one traversed by many visitors and locals alike, and the crosswalks that run adjacent to Broadway would be led to the aptly named Equality Park.
Which pride flag design style to use?
If you check out the links below, you’ll see that some cities use the 6-color rainbow flag design. Others use what is known as the Philadelphia pride flag, with its black and brown stripes representing people of color. Others integrate colors from the transgender pride flag. We personally are fans of the Philadelphia-style pride flag that incorporates elements of the transgender pride flag, as it feels beautifully inclusive. So we will be advocating for using these colors in our design.
How can we get started?!
We’ve had some good conversations with the city in February 2022. Details need to be finalized on the exact location, design, budget, etc. And the installations will most likely need city council approval. So we’ll need your help. We’re committed to making this happen in time for the 5th annual Pride Weekend in Newport (June 24, 25, & 26, 2022) and invite you to join us in this effort.
Here’s a running list of places we’ve identified that have installed rainbow crosswalks in the last few years—each link to an article about the installation there.
Salmon Arm, British Columbia (Canada)
Windsor, Ontario (Canada)