Santa Clara plans to paint a rainbow crosswalk to show the city’s support for the LGBTQ+ community amid this month’s Pride festivities.
The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the crosswalk’s installation at the intersection of Monroe and Franklin streets. Mayor Lisa Gillmor recused herself because her office is at the nearby Franklin Square mall. The city set aside $100,000 in the fiscal year 2025-26 budget to paint the crosswalk with colors from the progress Pride flag. It’s expected to be completed by this fall, with a cost of about $35,000 to install and roughly $1,000 annually to maintain.
The rainbow crosswalk was championed by former Councilmember Anthony Becker, who is openly gay. He pushed for the crosswalk to be added to the council’s list of priorities in 2024.
Becker told San José Spotlight he proposed the idea in 2021 as “Progress Corner”. He originally wanted two crosswalks with arrows in the progress flag colors, to inspire free speech and an open mind.
He was disappointed that his name wasn’t mentioned during the items discussion, but he’s happy to see it approved unanimously.
“I’m just glad to see that it’s moving forward and I’m looking forward to its unveiling,” Becker told San José Spotlight. “Ours will be a little different than the other cities because we’re including the trans colors, they’re including the brown and black (stripes).”
Councilmember Suds Jain, whose district includes the Franklin Square mall and future painted crosswalk, said the council’s full approval shows the city’s commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ residents.
“There’s this whole onslaught from the federal government about (diversity, equity and inclusion),” Jain told San José Spotlight. “This really is a mark, our approving this under these conditions, is a testament to the fact that we still think this is important.”
Visible support for the LGBTQ+ community has been growing in the past decade through the creation of rainbow crosswalks, raising the rainbow flag and supporting Pride events. The first rainbow crosswalk in Silicon Valley was painted in 2016. It crosses The Alameda in San Jose in front of the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center.
Gabrielle Antolovich, the center’s executive director, said they suggested painting the crosswalk when Former Mayor Sam Liccardo was looking for ways to support the local LGBTQ+ community. They said it was well-received when it opened and still encourages people to engage with the center, whether they identify as LGBTQ+ or not.
Antolovich said officials should prioritize supporting the community given threats from the federal government, but local officials juggle multiple priorities, so it’s up to residents to push their representatives. They added this kind of support affects other services the community may need to combat discrimination.
“The more you acknowledge and elevate who we are, it can make a huge difference in people’s confidence,” Antolovich told San José Spotlight. “Not only in them as an elected official, but maybe the elected officials can make sure that all of the services are welcoming in our community.”
Santa Clara will create the crosswalk using thermoplastic and special grips in the paint to make sure it doesn’t become a slip hazard.
Santa Clara spokesperson Janine De la Vega said there will likely be lane closures on Monroe Street during the construction, but the city aims to minimize impacts. The approved design has the rainbow colors perpendicular to the crosswalk.
Following San Jose, Cupertino added a rainbow stripe to the crosswalk at the intersection of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Finch Avenue in 2020. In Los Gatos, there are similar rainbow stripes at the intersection of Main and Villa streets, and Main and Church streets, though elected officials faced backlash from anti-LGBTQ+ residents when it was installed in 2021.
Ken Yeager, former Santa Clara County supervisor and San Jose councilmember, said he isn’t surprised to hear about Santa Clara’s support for the LGBTQ+ community, as the city’s been raising the rainbow flag for the past nine years. Yeager became the county’s first openly gay elected official when he won a seat on the San Jose Evergreen Community College District in 1992, and has spent a decade in local government advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.
He said there are more considerations when it comes to putting in a rainbow crosswalk, as some cities don’t have an obvious location. Santa Clara’s rainbow crosswalk will be in a significant location, as it’s near the city’s weekly farmers market and on the route for the annual Parade of Champions.
Yeager stressed the importance of showing support for the LGBTQ+ community, which he said is becoming more commonplace locally.
“Maybe if more cities do it, it catches on, then other councilmembers say, ‘Hey, we should have one too,’” Yeager told San José Spotlight. “Maybe we’re finally getting to that point, where they become less controversial and more routine.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
