Rainbow crossing
A rainbow crossing or rainbow crosswalk is a pedestrian crossing that has the art of the rainbow flag installed to celebrate the LGBTQ community.
Rainbow crosswalks may be installed just for particular occasions, such as events or Pride parades. Others may be permanent fixtures of cities, especially when they are installed in gay villages.
History
The rainbow flag or gay pride flag, is associated with the LGBTQ community activities around the world.The idea to create rainbow crosswalks appears to have first emerged in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2008.
The first permanent rainbow crosswalks were introduced in West Hollywood as part of the 2012 Gay Pride Month celebrations.
This inspired similar crossings in Sydney, Australia, the following year, as well as some temporary rainbow crossings in other cities such as Tel Aviv for a photo shoot to promote TYP: Ivri Lider and Johnny Goldstein, the act scheduled to headline the Gay Pride Parade's main concert. These photos, reminiscent of the Beatles Abbey Road album cover were posted on Facebook and the crosswalk was repainted white a few hours later.
Following some of the temporary and early permanent installations in 2012 and 2013, the symbolism of rainbow crossings has gained widespread adoption by cities around the world to celebrate the LGBTQ community with many having been made into permanent installations. With that they have also been subject to regular attacks and vandalism by people opposed to them.
In May 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1662 to keep "our transportation facilities free & clear of political ideologies." Soon after, the Florida Department of Transportation ordered the removal or rainbow crossings across the state. In at least one city, officials responded by installing rainbow colored bike racks in protest.
Community protests and internet activism
The removal of the crossing inspired a rainbow chalk community protest started by Sydney local James Brechney. People followed his lead by creating their own DIY rainbow crossings with chalk and sharing pictures on social media.The campaign also featured internet activism with the Facebook Page, DIY Rainbow. Pictures of chalk rainbow crossings from many places around the world appeared on social media including Paris, Shanghai, Pretoria, Thailand and Cambodia. Facebook would later credit DIY Rainbow as one of the top 10 pages of Facebook over its first 10 years.
DIY Rainbow crossing protest movement in Australia
The DIY rainbow crossing movement was a protest movement that emerged in Sydney, Australia, in 2013. The campaign involved individuals creating rainbow pedestrian crossings in chalk to protest the removal of a temporary rainbow crossing from Oxford Street. The temporary crossing was created by the City of Sydney as part of the 35th-anniversary celebration of the Sydney Mardi Gras.When the crossing was to be removed, the community protests and internet activism campaign emerged. In 2013, New South Wales' first permanent rainbow crossing was approved and installed on Lackey St, Summer Hill. In 2019, a permanent rainbow crossing was unveiled in Taylor Square, on the corner of Bourke and Campbell streets.
Summer Hill Rainbow Crossing
Support for the rainbow crossing spread across Sydney, including local communities. On 14 April 2013, in response to the removal of the Rainbow Crossing in Oxford St, Darlinghurst, parents and children from several local schools chalked a rainbow in the public square at Summer Hill, as part of the DIY Rainbow Crossing movement.On 15 April 2013, Ashfield Council workers removed the rainbow. After media attention, council issued a statement labelling it a slip hazard and requested a permit be obtained before it could be re-chalked. The events were covered in The Daily Telegraph, The Australian, Perth Now, and on 2DAY FM.
On 17 April 2013, it was rechalked by more than 100 people, including local councillor Alex Lofts. On 18 April, it was again removed, only to be re-chalked. Since that date it has remained chalked. A group of families and supporters continue to chalk the rainbow, especially after rain.
This group has also ensured the area remains free of litter; they also hold occasional performances and arts-related celebrations at the site. Some local businesses have offered discounts and support for the rainbow. These businesses display a logo with a stylised image of the rainbow crossing on it. A Summer Hill Rainbow Crossing Facebook page was used to support the community protest.
At an Ashfield Council meeting on 28 May 2013, the council passed a motion that a permanent outline of a rainbow be painted in Summer Hill Square, with the understanding that this may be periodically 'chalked in' by children, families and community members.
Wider adoption of the protest movement
The original DIY rainbow crossing protest movement was generated by the debate over the rainbow crossing in Sydney, however DIY rainbow crossings continue to appear as protests in other settings including a crossing outside the Russian embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 2013 in protest against new legislation in Russia.Pedestrian safety
In 2011, the United States Federal Highway Administration advised, without data, that "crosswalk art is actually contrary to the goal of increased safety and most likely could be a contributing factor to a false sense of security for both motorists and pedestrians".In early September 2019, the city council of Ames, Iowa, cut the ribbon on a rainbow crosswalk. Subsequently, the Federal Highway Administration sent them a letter "requesting" that it be removed. The city council ignored the letter.
Since then, the 11th edition of the US Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices discourages bright colors from use within a crosswalk but no longer prohibits them, provided that the colors are not standard for use in other traffic control applications. However, symbols in addition to the rainbow may not be permissible depending on the application.
In the United Kingdom, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has complained about the risk of rainbow crossings for people with visual impairments, who may rely on the contrast between traditional black and white stripes in order to cross the road safely.
Other disability groups have said that people with dementia or learning disabilities may not recognise that they are road crossings, or that the colours may be overwhelming for autistic people or guide dogs. In response to an open letter by the RNIB, the Alzheimer's Society and Scope, London mayor Sadiq Khan temporarily paused the crossings.
A 2022 study by Bloomberg Philanthropies found that 17 sites with asphalt art had a 17% reduction in crashes and a 50% reduction in crashes with pedestrians after their painting; though, the study does not mention rainbow crossings explicitly. An analysis of decorative crosswalks in Orlando, Florida, found more pedestrian crossings after their installation alongside a decrease in dangerous driving behaviors.
Defacement and vandalism
Rainbow crossings around the world have been regular targets of homophobic attacks and vandalism such as defacement.In early June 2019, the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, unveiled a rainbow crosswalk on the historic U.S. Route 66. Just a few days later, a motorcycle gang caused a significant amount of damage to the $30,000 crossing with their motorcycles.
In August 2022, police in Atlanta arrested a suspect that was said to have defaced the city's rainbow crosswalk by painting swastikas over it.
In October 2022, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated a potential hate crime after a severed pig's head was found on a rainbow crosswalk outside a school near Spruce Grove, Alberta.
In February 2024, a rainbow crosswalk in Redmond, Washington, was defaced by vandals with slurs using spraypaint.
In March 2024, a rainbow crossing in Gisborne, New Zealand, was painted white by members of Destiny Church. They attempted to paint it again after it was restored and five were arrested. A rainbow crossing on Karangahape Road in Auckland was subsequently defaced in the same manner, but Destiny Church denied involvement.
In June 2024, a video showed a pickup truck doing burnouts on a newly installed rainbow crossing in Huntington, West Virginia.
Notable permanent installations
The list below does not include all rainbow crossings in existence and is limited to those of notability, such as the first installation in a country, first installation in the largest cities of a state of large countries or otherwise notable beyond its mere existence.Bans
On February 22, 2024, a by-law was passed by referendum in the Canadian town of Westlock, Alberta, which prohibits the painting of crosswalks with non-standard colors, or the flying of flags on municipal property that represent "political, social, or religious movements or commercial entities". The referendum was proposed by petition, with its supporters claiming that it was meant to promote governmental "neutrality" on social issues.The bill's passage was criticized by Westlock's mayor and other local politicians, who believed that it was specifically meant to restrict LGBTQ pride commemorations by the municipal government. A rainbow crossing had been painted in Westlock for the first time in 2023, but was subsequently removed to comply with the neutrality bill.
Later that year, a similar by-law inspired by the Wastlock ban was passed in Barrhead, Alberta, while groups have advocated for similar laws in other Canadian municipalities.
In 2025, the US state of Florida officially prohibited new installations of all aesthetic and non-standard crosswalk markings on the state highway system, which includes rainbow crosswalks. A rainbow crossing in Orlando, painted in 2017 to honor the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting, was removed in August 2025.
| City | Country | Date installed | Location | Image | Notability | |
| Los Angeles | United States | 2012 | West Hollywood | First permanent rainbow crossing in the world. First in the United States and California. The two rainbow crosswalks were painted on San Vicente Boulevard in 2012 and updated in 2022. | ||
| Sydney | Australia | 2013 | Lackey Street Piazza, Summer Hill | First permanent rainbow crossing in Australia | ||
| Vancouver | Canada | 2013 | Davie and Bute streets | First permanent rainbow crossing in Canada | ||
| San Francisco | United States | 2014 | Castro District | First permanent installation in California's fourth largest city. | ||
| Toronto | Canada | 2014 | Church and Alexander Streets | First permanent rainbow crossing in Ontario and largest city of Canada | ||
| Seattle | United States | 2015 | Broadway and Pine Street, Capitol Hill, Seattle | First permanent rainbow crossing in Washington state | ||
| Philadelphia | United States | 2015 | 13th & Locust streets | First permanent rainbow crossing in Pennsylvania | ||
| San Jose | United States | 2016 | First rainbow crossing in San Jose. | |||
| Swift Current | Canada | 2017 | Central Avenue | First permanent rainbow crossing in Saskatchewan | ||
| Saskatoon | Canada | 2017 | Third Avenue and 23rd Street and Fourth Avenue | First permanent rainbow crossing in Saskatchewan's largest city | ||
| Atlanta | United States | 2017 | Pedestrian scramble at 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue | First permanent rainbow crossing in Georgia, US | ||
| Paris | France | 2018 | Marais district | First permanent rainbow crossing in France | ||
| Canberra | Australia | 2018 | Elouera and Lonsdale Streets, Braddon | First permanent rainbow roundabout in the world. First in the capital of Australia. | ||
| Milwaukee | United States | 2018 | N. Jefferson St. | First permanent rainbow crossing in Wisconsin | ||
| Nottingham | United Kingdom | 2019 | Broad Street | First permanent rainbow crossing in the United Kingdom | ||
| Guildford | United Kingdom | 2019 | Stag Hill, University of Surrey | First permanent rainbow crossing at a British university; installed after the council refused to allow rainbow crossings elsewhere in the county, as it is a crossing on private land | ||
| Vienna | Austria | 2019 | Burgtheater, Innere Stadt | First permanent rainbow crossing in Austria | ||
| Chicago | United States | 2019 | North Halsted Street at West Buckingham Place | First permanent rainbow crossing in Illinois | ||
| Venice | United States | 2019 | First rainbow crossing in Los Angeles | |||
| Ferndale | United States | 2019 | Downtown Ferndale | |||
| Taipei | Taiwan | 2019 | Ximending, Ximen Station Exit 6 | First permanent rainbow crossing in Taiwan; commemorates passing of marriage equality | ||
| New York City | United States | 2019 | 7th Avenue and Christopher Street | Near Stonewall Inn to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots | ||
| Key West | United States | 2020 | Duval and Petronia streets | First permanent rainbow crossing in Florida | ||
| Derry | Northern Ireland | 2021 | Peace Bridge | First permanent rainbow crossing in the country of Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland | ||
| Arklow | Ireland | 2021 | Main street | First permanent rainbow crossing in Ireland | ||
| Dublin | Ireland | 2022 | Clondalkin | First permanent rainbow crossing in Dublin, largest city and capital of Ireland | ||
| Cape Town | South Africa | 2022 | De Waterkant | First permanent rainbow crosswalk in Cape Town, and the first in South Africa. Installed in De Waterkant - the city's gay village - which hosts the start of its annual pride parade | ||
| Geelong | Australia | 2023 | Yarra Street | First intersex inclusive Progress Pride crossing in Australia | ||
| Huntington, West Virginia | United States | 2024 | 4th Avenue and 10th Street | |||
| Nashville, Tennessee | United States | 2024 | 14th and Woodland streets | First rainbow crossing in Nashville and in the state of Tennessee |