READING Borough Council has brought some extra colour to central Reading by updating the rainbow crossing.
The traffic lights on Friar Street feature a colourful crossing in Pride colours, which has now seen a bright refresh which includes new colours as Pride month continues.
Eagle-eyed residents noticed that the crossing was being prepared for work on Tuesday, June 20, before council staff began works to refresh the crossing later that evening.
First installed in 2019, the crossing featured the colours of the Pride flag but has now been updated to include the colours added in the Pride Progress flag, which includes further colours to represent transgender people and marginalised people of colour.
The new crossing features the white, pink, and blue stripes of the transgender flag, the brown stripe, which represents marginalised people of colour, and the black stripe representing those affected by HIV and AIDS.
The refresh follows discussions with LGBTQ+ staff at the council, and comes just weeks before Reading Pride’s Love Unites Festival is due to return to Kings Meadow in September.
Cllr Karen Rowland, Lead Member for Environmental Services and Community Safety, said:
“Our Rainbow Crossing is a real point of Pride for Reading, and I’m delighted that we’re able to reinforce our support for the entire LGBTQ+ community by displaying and promoting the colours of the Progress Pride flag.
“Situated near the train station, most people that come into or out of Reading’s town centre are likely to walk at least once over the iconic crosswalk, and thus be reminded that Reading is a town that embraces diversity and is inclusive of the wide range of lifestyles and choices in every aspect of our society.
“We have every right to be proud of this crossing as a town, and each time it is repainted, it should further embed those open values that we stand on in each resident that calls Reading home.”
For more information about the meaning behind Pride and representative flags and their uses, visit: www.myumbrella.org.uk/resources/pride-flags
