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New L.P. Miller GSA rainbow sidewalk proposal passes

NIPAWIN — A rainbow sidewalk will soon be in front of L.P. Miller, after Nipawin council passed a modified proposal by the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance to temporarily paint the surface.
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The L.P. Miller GSA gained approval from the Town of Nipawin to paint a rainbow strip along both sides of the sidewalk in front of the school, leaving the large middle portion clear for pedestrians. Diagram given to the Town of Nipawin from the L.P. Miller GSA

NIPAWIN — A rainbow sidewalk will soon be in front of L.P. Miller, after Nipawin council passed a modified proposal by the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance to temporarily paint the surface.

Last month, council rejected the previous variation of their proposal, despite passing a similar motion in 2020.

The recommendation to reject it from the town’s Community Development Standing Committee who stated that painting sidewalks is a safety issue.

The committee said that a number of people complained to the town, some of which alleged to have fallen due to walking on a painted surface. Another concern expressed was the difficulty with removing it.

In this new proposal, the GSA gave three different options to the town to navigate those issues.

“Our previous proposal to paint the sidewalk in front of the school was understandably rejected due to the unaddressed safety issue that potentially may occur when the sidewalk becomes wet,” the GSA supervisors, Cindy Miller and Kendra Nesbitt wrote to the town.

“We hope that this second proposal will alleviate some concerns and open up the conversation for other projects that the town may be interested in supporting.”

The option selected by the committee and passed by council is to paint a rainbow strip along both sides of the sidewalk, leaving the large middle portion clear for pedestrians.

In the proposal, the GSA explained that they have consulted with the manager of the Co-op Home Centre, who recommended using their porch and floor paint, which is slip resistant.

The options passed over by the town include painting the same section of sidewalk, as was done last year; and painting a rainbow crosswalk across 6th Avenue where it intersects with Canawindra Cove.

The GSA added that the latter option has the added benefit of drawing the driver’s attention to the fact that it is a busy crossing by the high school, as many students use this intersection.