Small (rainbow) steps make great moves…

The town of Zottegem, in Flanders, has decided to create a “rainbow zebra crossing” after the murder of a gay man. The town has chosen to place the zebra crossing at a central location to keep the memory of the incident alive for every resident and visitor.

Similar pedestrian crossings will also be constructed in a nearby town. The original intention was to install the pedestrian crossings in the vicinity of schools, but this turned out not to be legal (it was deemed unsafe for the blind and visually impaired); the design has subsequently been adapted and the legal obstacles removed.

Therefore, there are no more objections to install rainbow pedestrian crossings in more cities and villages! To be continued… hopefully!

The news was reported at the vrt.be website (link). [Update: the nuus.be website (link) reports that the rainbow crossing was vandalized shortly after inauguration.]

This post contributed by the Belgian team of Trui De Vos, Evi Baeyens, Frederik de Buck and Mieke Van den Bossche — bedankt team!
The composite image includes sources from Google Maps and vrt.be.