For some it's a pricey splash of paint colouring a single crosswalk but for members of Prince George's queer community, the Pride Walk is a symbol of so much more.
"At the Pride society we are absolutely thrilled about the crosswalk being painted and the dedication and commitment (of) the mayor and the office and city council about continuing with the super progressive and diverse community that Prince George is," said Pride Prince George's new president Stacey Hewlett.
Soon Prince George will join several communities in B.C. - Vancouver, Castlegar, Kelowna, Princeton, Prince Rupert and Victoria - to turn a grey stretch into a rainbow walkway. City staff said the work should be done by the end of June, but the final downtown location is still up in the air.
"This is a really big deal," said Hewlett, both for the group and for her personally as someone who identifies as lesbian.
"I've lived in this community my whole life and to see the change that has come in the last even 10 years really, it makes it a place you want to put roots and stay."
Last Monday, with little fanfare or discussion, city council unanimously voted for the zebra-style crosswalk. Councillors opted for the cheaper of the two set-ups - $3,000 instead of $6,000 - but that price proved too rich for some residents.
"I think a lot of people are a little disturbed by the price, but when you look at what it's representing I don't think there could be a price put on it. This is representing equality for people throughout our community," she said, pointing to the renamed Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park as another positive example.
"I get that it's going to ruffle some feathers but sometimes you gotta ruffle some feathers," she said. "Same-sex marriage wouldn't be legal. We have to fight the good fight."
Mayor Lyn Hall said he sees it as a public art piece.
"And yes it happens to be a piece of public art that's going to be on a crosswalk on a street. I think those are some of things that we as a council would take a look at and consider.
"Prince George is a very multicultural, diversified community and I think it's important and council wanted to recognize that," Hall said.
"Not only that, it's a statement of inclusiveness."
The $3,000 includes the cost of the paint - a cold plastic coat that has different colours - as well as labour, council heard. For a regular crosswalk, both paint and the contractor's time costs about $175.
As for concerns from some over the price tag, Hall said there are costs attached to many things in the community.
"When we try to look at being an inclusive community and this is one of them," Hall said.
"I understand their concern but I think when it comes to us wanting to be a multicultural, diversified, all-inclusive community, there are costs that are applied to that."
Valentine Crawford, the former president of Pride PG, said he wasn't surprised by some of the negative reaction, but he also doesn't understand the objection.
"It's so small and the impact is so big so really, what's there to gripe about?... It's hard to understand but not everyone's going to agree. Tough," said Crawford, who praised city council for making the move without much advocacy from the queer community.
"It was definitely pretty cool for a northern city to really do that without any massive lobbying. The seed was planted and they carried on with it without any real push from the community, so it's more legitimate I think and more purposeful and intentional as opposed to have a whole movement behind something."
Hall said council received another request this spring following up the June 2015 letter sent by Sussanne Skidmore and Rebecca Lewis.
"Installation of the Pride Walk in Prince George would signify the support of our community as holding a diversified and tolerant position," they wrote in last year's request, which was sent a couple weeks before the July pride festival and too late for city to install.
Crawford, who worked with the pride festival for 12 years, echoed the sentiment.
"Having a permanent symbol in our community is a validation and recognition that we are there, that Prince George is a safe place and a place for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) families to put root."
"We were really excited to see yet again council doing the right thing even though there was some public push back," said Skidmore, who is Hewlett's wife. "It's such a small gesture in the big scheme of things to show what is quite a large community in Prince George that the community does welcome them."
Hewlett said they're still talking with the city about the final location, but it will be in the downtown core and close to city hall.
"We don't yet know the exact date because the contractor is going to get all of the lines painted for the rest of the city before starting on the crosswalk in question," said city spokesman Michael Kellett. "It is very much weather-dependent, but we anticipate having it all done by the end of June."
The 19th annual Pride festivities will be
July 8 to 10, with a much larger focus on the Saturday at city hall, Hewlett said.
"We would like to see that festival on the lawn takes that whole day and really family-oriented. We want to keep the people in the downtown core," she said, while Crawford stressed the importance of volunteering or even standing in the crowd that day.
"That little bit of visibility of helping out does help others that are struggling," he said.
"It's important to remember that it's not always easy for some to be who they are in any community."
