Written by by Caitlyn Freeman at seattletimes.com
After a Pride-themed crosswalk and a bus stop in Capitol Hill were vandalized with white paint last month, the Seattle Department of Transportation has begun repainting the rainbows.
The crosswalk at Broadway and East Pine Street, as well as the rainbow bus stop platform several blocks east at 15th Avenue East and East Republican Street, were splattered with white paint on the week of Sept. 9, SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson said in an email. As of Monday, SDOT was still repainting the crosswalk.
The raised bus stop will be trickier to fix because of its material.
“We were able to clean much of the debris from the vandalized bus stop, but some paint still [remained] after our pressure washing,” Bergerson said. “We are currently working with our contractor to explore options to remove the rest of the paint without damaging the bus pad.”
Bergerson did not have the estimated cost of repairs or a timeline for when they’ll be completed, as of Monday. He said the department found the vandalism “unacceptable” and undermined its values of inclusivity.
Since 2015, the rainbow crosswalks have been a feature of Capitol Hill, known as Seattle’s “Gayborhood” and the symbolic heart of the city’s LGBTQ+ community. The city originally paid $66,000 to paint the crosswalks.
Evan Evans bartends at Neighbours Nightclub, a longstanding gay dance club south on Broadway. After the vandalism, he thought about repainting the crosswalk himself, but he is happy he doesn’t have to.
“I think it’s really kind of cool, and I was kind of impressed how fast [the repairs] happened,” Evans said.
The apparent motive for the vandalism remained unclear. Police were not aware of any reports about the damaged crosswalk and bus stop, so it was not being investigated as a possible “bias incident,” said Officer Eric Muñoz, spokesperson for the Seattle Police Department.
Businesses along Broadway often deal with unwanted graffiti, said Louise Frias, general manager of Blick Art Materials, located in front of the crosswalk. While happy the city is repairing the crosswalk, she said the vandalism is frustrating.