The freshly painted rainbow crosswalk on a private driveway in Chilliwack, B.C. spans 38 feet in length.

B次元官网网址淭o me, diversity is important.B次元官网网址�

ThatB次元官网网址檚 how Chilliwack homeowner Marty van den Bosch explained in a Facebook post why he and his wife, Kristy, decided to have a brightly coloured rainbow painted on their property.

A photo of the new rainbow from last week received a whopping 750 likes and other emoji reactions, along with 131 shares.

B次元官网网址淲e have a large cross-section of people that live in our country, and in our city,B次元官网网址� wrote van den Bosch. B次元官网网址淓ach and every one of us are different, often in many ways.B次元官网网址�

They watched with dismay as city council quashed the rainbow crosswalk proposal in a 5-1 vote at city hall last week, he said.

Council took the vote without allowing the advocates to speak, despite a petition signed by more than 800 people, and 100 letters of support.

B次元官网网址淚 do my best to treat people based on their actions, and their words, not on things like their sexual orientation, race or any other attributes they were born with,B次元官网网址� continued van den Bosch.

HeB次元官网网址檚 not trying to change anyoneB次元官网网址檚 mind, but said they felt it was important to show that the acceptance and inclusivity effort was worthy, and the rainbow advocates should have been given a chance to at least address council with hundreds of people supporting them.

B次元官网网址淟ook, I am a middle-aged and heterosexual male who has no investment in this, and at first when I heard about the effort to get a rainbow crosswalk approved, I was neither strongly for or against,B次元官网网址� van den Bosch said.

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But he changed his view since then.

B次元官网网址淚f it wasnB次元官网网址檛 contentious, then something like this wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be needed,B次元官网网址� van den Bosch said. B次元官网网址淭his is not about getting attention.B次元官网网址�

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It comes down to respect.

B次元官网网址淚 support the belief that everyone should be treated with respect, regardless of our differences,B次元官网网址� he said.

He offered thanks to painter Lorna Seip, manager of Two Girls On A Roll, for providing the labour to paint the crosswalk at no charge.

It didnB次元官网网址檛 cost much for the project materials, about $410 for all the supplies including paint, van den Bosch estimated.

B次元官网网址淚t can be done inexpensively,B次元官网网址� he said about painting on private property.

Of course for a city crosswalk it would cost much more, to pay for flaggers, signage, cones and other costs.

jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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