NEWBURYPORT — The mayor and a city councilor are defending the city’s decision to paint a pair of crosswalks rainbow colors after recently receiving emails criticizing the move.
The emails come a year after the city painted a crosswalk at the corner of Pleasant and Green streets rainbow colors to celebrate Pride Month in June 2021 and roughly six weeks after Central Congregational Church painted one at the corner of Pleasant and Titcomb streets with the city’s assistance.
Former Mayor Donna Holaday asked the Department of Public Services to paint the crosswalk in 2021 and the city repainted it this spring while performing maintenance. The City Council gave the church permission to paint the crosswalk at the corner of Pleasant and Titcomb Streets last fall.
While the city provided the paint, church members did the painting.
The emails tackle topics such as the crosswalks creating a safety hazard by being too distracting, while others raise concerns about whether the city followed due process before signing off on the crosswalks.
In addition to some negative emails, Ward 2 City Councilor Jennie Donahue said she has received plenty of compliments about the two crosswalks.
One email, according to Donahue, states that the rainbow crosswalks are a potential safety concern since they could distract drivers with their nontraditional colors.
She called the complaint baseless.
“There are no police reports or incidents to validate that concern,” Donahue said. “We have had one of them up for close to a year now and there is nothing to substantiate that claim.”
Reardon responded with an email of his own and confirmed the crosswalk at Pleasant and Green streets was painted during Holaday’s administration and without City Council approval.
But the mayor said the work on the crosswalk at Pleasant and Titcomb streets was approved by the council in September and any future modifications would be performed in a similar fashion.
“Now that the painting has taken place, this will be treated as maintenance, and DPS will continue to service the crosswalk on a regular schedule, like the rest of the crosswalks in the city,” Reardon wrote. “Should residents want other crosswalks painted in different designs, they can make that request of the City Council.”
Crosswalk maintenance is performed by DPS under the mayor’s supervision, according to Reardon, who added that painting a crosswalk could be considered maintenance as long as the base lines remain.
Donahue said many people will take the time to complain about something as opposed to offering praise.
“We might have seen more complaints than praises but, my feeling is, the community as a whole are quite pleased with the rainbow crosswalk,” she said.
The rainbow is a symbol of unity and inclusion, she said.
“From where I am standing, as someone who grew up here, Newburyport has always been a place striving toward inclusion,” she said.
The Rev. Chris Ney, pastor of Central Congregational Church, said the Pleasant and Titcomb streets crosswalk project was proposed by a young church member and is meant to celebrate the fact that the church has been a welcoming place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people for more than 15 years.
Donahue said she could not find fault with what the church did.
“If the church is going to be that loving and inclusive, I don’t see any reason why that is not an example that we should all be following,” she said.
The City Council followed the correct public process with both crosswalks, according to Donahue.
“All the information is out there and we can’t make people watch the meetings and follow the agendas,” she said.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.
