SAN ANTONIO – It was a long road, but the approved Rainbow Pride Crosswalk, set to be installed at the corner of Main Avenue and Evergreen, is finally near the finish line.
Originally drawn in chalk during the San Antonio Pride Parade in the summer of 2017, and appearing again this month on a Fiesta medal, the powerful symbol of LGBTQ+ pride will soon become a reality.
"We were trying to raise some money with Fiesta coming up," said District 1 Councilman Roberto Treviño. "The tradition of doing Fiesta medals, we thought it would be a great way to raise money."
Treviño designed the medal himself, based on the physical location where the crosswalk will be placed.
"It’s actually the intersection cut out with the quad trefoil theme on it," Treviño said. He based it on a Google Earth satellite image of the actual location (pictured below).
Funding for the crosswalk will come from two sources: the City of San Antonio’s general fund and private donations.
At Senior Fiesta at the Pearl Stable on Tuesday, Treviño said his Fiesta medal raised more than $10,000 for the crosswalk so far, and Fiesta has only just begun.
Rainbow Crosswalk Fiesta medals are being sold for $15 each at businesses along Main Avenue, near the intersection where the actual crosswalk will be.
"Businesses along the strip - Randy Cunniff, the owner of many establishments there, has been selling them there at Luther’s – or other establishments up and down Main Avenue, as well as Pride San Antonio," Treviño said.
The funding is already available if the city wanted to simply paint a crosswalk. But Treviño said he wants to make a lasting impression.
"There’s another product that we use at the City of San Antonio that’s more durable. And to use that product, it’s a little bit more."
The cost for that durable, heat-applied product would be $20,000 – an amount Treviño said fundraising efforts would achieve in no time.
But to the community it represents, this symbol of pride means so much more than just a little paint on the road.
"The whole point of this is to bring awareness to show that we are a welcoming and inclusive community," said Treviño. "And I certainly don’t want anybody to think this is enough. This is really about taking steps in the right direction."