Vandalism of Bend Pride rainbow crosswalk sparks public reaction — and city has plans to make it permanent
(Update: Council passes Pride Month proclamation City manager says crosswalk will be repainted next week with more durable paint)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The city of Bend has plans in the works to make a new Pride crosswalk in downtown Bend permanent, even though it has become a target for vandals in the days since it was installed. First, it will get repainted next week, with more durable paint.
June is Pride Month, and to celebrate the national holiday, the city installed the rainbow crosswalk on Riverside Boulevard near Drake Park. But since it’s addition last week, it's been targeted by recent acts of vandalism.
"The city manager, Eric King, is the actual road authority and he's the one who authorized the crosswalk, but council did give their support for it at a meeting," Mayor Pro Tem Megan Perkins said Wednesday.
The rainbow crosswalk was installed late last week -- a couple days later -- graffiti and tire marks appeared.
Bend resident Chris said, "We were very happy that it was a colorful sidewalk, and a little bit disappointed to see that others are unhappy and are peeling the rubber to disrupt the nice paint job that the city did."
During an interview on Monday with Pride organizers, a NewsChannel 21 camera caught what appears to be someone intentionally peeling out on the crosswalk. The same pickup truck came back and tried to spray exhaust onto the crosswalk.
A member of the SUS Magazine Board of Directors, Bob Aktarighi, said, "I don't think it's very hostile at all. I think they're trying to scare us. It's not going to work. We're not easily shaken."
There are plans to keep the rainbow art year-round, with repairs as needed.
At the end of a city council meeting Wednesday night that began with councilors adopting a Pride Month proclamation, and no citizen comments in opposition or about the crosswalk, King told councilors that "we are going to be repainting it early next week, with more durable paint."
Perkins said earlier, "The street is going to be repaved this summer, and so it'll definitely get redone then."
She said the city council could look into creating a program for street art in the future. It could support different groups, organizations or identities.
