Amid Opposition, Doylestown Council Approves Rainbow Crosswalk

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A rainbow crosswalk will be painted this spring on Printer’s Alley parallel to East State Street in time for this year’s Pride Month celebration in June.

In a unanimous vote Monday night, borough council approved the permanent addition to the street, which will be paid for and maintained by the Doylestown Pride Festival.

“When the pride committee came before our committee the issue wasn’t that certain lifestyles were being advocated or that there was any ideology,” said Councilman Ben Bell, who brought the motion to the floor. “The issue was support for residents of the borough whom they believed were marginalized, were targets of hate speech and in some cases discriminated against by their own school board members. It’s not a referendum on ideology or lifestyle.”

The approval brought applause from a packed council chamber and followed extensive public comment both for and against the motion.

Opponents of the motion, many of whom came from out of town to weigh in on the issue, accusing the borough of politicizing crosswalks, opening the door to other forms of political expression on the public streets, marginalizing their religious beliefs and changing the character and nature of the town.

“I don’t want politics on the street,” said a Sellersville woman. “This shouldn’t start. Where will it end? Are we going to have a First Amendment walkway? Just let people be who they are and stop trying to force it on everyone. Why can’t the streets say nothing and let people be who they are.”

One man accused the borough council of “virtue signaling with paint.”

Art Larson of Doylestown Township asked where the borough will be drawing the line. “What about a Chinese flag? What about the hammer and sickle? If you do it for them, you have to do it for everyone else,” he said.

Doylestown Borough businessowner Jona Franklin questioned how the painting of a crosswalk would change a community’s coalescence. “If we’re looking to have a better understanding of each other, there are probably things that work better then painting” a crosswalk.

“I don’t think we should start using our streets as billboards,” she added. “Through the years that I have been here as a merchant I went through my own process with the HARB about their standard and desire for the way the town looks, which is the county seat. That is something that should be preserved for a ton of reasons.”

Supporters of the crosswalk said it’s not political as some at the meeting were suggesting. They said they just want their local government to support a symbol of acceptance, which they are not getting from the school district.

Former Councilman Don Berk said a rainbow crosswalk is intended to show those who are marginalized “that we have their backs, that these hate groups can go someplace else, that we are a tolerant and inclusive community. And this will drive that home all the more,” he said. “I’ll be proud to walk on that crosswalk when it’s there.”

A New Britain Township woman reminded council that in 2010 Doylestown Borough revised its ordinance to include LGBTQ+ rights with regard to employment discrimination. “You were a leader at that time and I’m hoping you’ll be a leader again today,” she said. “It is very important right now to have an outward sign and reaffirm the commitment of Doylestown Borough.”

Responding to comments from the other side regarding religion, Ginger Hardwick, the president of the congregation of Salem United Church of Christ, said a painted crosswalk and supporting LGBTQ+ rights should not be viewed as an attack against religion. “It is not,” she said.

“This is a small symbol,” she said of the crosswalk. “And symbols are important, but we have big issues. Everyone knows that there has been major controversy at our elected board of education. Numerous LGBTQ+ children have felt marginalized, bullied and not supported by their elected leaders,” she said. “So I ask that this council stand in opposition to that trend in our schools and show our young people that not all elected officials are judging them, are dismissive of them or think that they are less than.”

Zandie Hall, a senior at CB West High School, added her support for the crosswalk. “With the anti-LGBTQ+ policies being passed by our school board majority many students feel unsupported and being pushed into the closet. This crosswalk will not only add some vibrancy to Doylestown, but also send a message that Doylestown is an inclusive place that loves and sees all people especially their youth.”