Petition for permanent rainbow crosswalks already has thousands of signatures

ATLANTA — There's a push to get crosswalks in a midtown intersection painted like a rainbow flag again --- but this time for good.

The LGBTQ community has already gathered 15,000 signatures on a petition to make it happen.

“I want to figure out a way to make this happen,” Sarah Rose, the organizer behind the effort, told Channel 2’s Wendy Corona.

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Rose wants the crosswalks at 10^th and Piedmont painted like a rainbow flag permanently.

The painting happened temporarily during Atlanta's Gay Pride festival in October 2015.

“I remember it being painted and it was lively and lovely,” midtown resident Nitzan Auz told Corona.

“I don't think that's something we should let go. It meant something to so many people when it happened before,” Rose said.

The midtown intersection has become the epicenter for Atlanta’s LGBTQ community.

When the Pulse nightclub shooting happened in Orlando in 2016, a massive vigil was held there for the victims.

“This is a place that the community ... comes to a lot to really gather and show our strength and our history,” Rose said.

Rose told Corona that Atlanta is poised to make a mark especially as it played a significant role in the history of civil rights.

“In the DNA of Atlanta, there's the story of the march towards equality for different groups that have been marginalized throughout history. It's a huge part of our history and who we are,” Rose said.

“As long as it stays safe and it doesn't affect the cars driving, I don't see why it couldn't be a permanent thing in the neighborhood,” Auz said.

Rose is hopeful the petition's strength will be enough to get a conversation started soon with the city of Atlanta.

Cox Media Group