Juneau’s rainbow crosswalk received an annual touch-up this week as the paint was renewed from another year of wear and tear.
The paint was paid for completely by fundraising at no cost to the city, said Steve SueWing, who helped get the original crosswalk painted and continues to fundraise for it.
“It’s paid for this year and definitely next year. This has been on the work plan for a month and a half, but the delay was getting the paint here,” SueWing said in a phone interview. “It’s definitely — pun intended — a point of pride of being there. With every year that it’s there, people are getting more used to seeing and expecting to see it on time.”
[Live and in color: GLITZ returns to full, glorious presence]
Paint dries Thursday morning on Juneau’s rainbow crosswalk as the colorful crossing gets its annual repainting on June 16, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Work was finished on the crosswalk by Thursday morning. SueWing said he thought it might be the only rainbow crosswalk in Alaska.
The crosswalk was first painted in July 2019, following a number of crosswalks downtown getting guerrilla-painted rainbow colors in previous years. The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council serves as the fiscal sponsor for the project, SueWing said.
Initial fundraising has carried the crosswalk through this year and beyond, SueWing said, as he’s continued to raise money to keep the project solid for the future.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
