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A Magazine for Sheffield

Walk With Pride

A new campaign is calling for a permanent rainbow crossing to be created in Sheffield city centre to celebrate our LGBT+ community.

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Eleanor Coppard at Sheffield's temporary Walk With Pride crossing.

Photo by Eleanor Coppard.

A Sheffield youth worker has launched a campaign for a permanent rainbow crossing to celebrate the city's LGBT+ community.

Eleanor Coppard's Walk With Pride petition has attracted over 300 signatures and has won support from organisations including LGBT Sheffield and SAYiT.

"I have always thought that rainbow crossings in other cities looked amazing," Coppard told Now Then.

"They are such a simple way to brighten up a space, whilst simultaneously promoting visibility for the LGBT+ community and letting visitors know exactly what the city is all about."

Sheffield City Council created a semi-permanent rainbow crossing outside the Town Hall in July, marking what would have been an in-person Sheffield Pride.

Now Coppard wants to see a permanent version based on Daniel Quasar's redesigned Pride flag, which adds stripes representing LGBT communities of colour and the Transgender Pride Flag.

"I work with young people within the city, many of whom are part of the LGBT+ community, including my own daughter," she said. "I think it’s important that they feel represented and valued within the city, and that they feel supported and safe whilst out and about."

The UK's first permanent Pride crossing was created in south London in 2019, and versions have recently been installed in Manchester and Portsmouth. "Lets be honest - anything that London can do, Sheffield can do better," reads the petition.

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A rainbow crossing in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Photo by Tayla Kohler on Unsplash.

Possible locations for a permanent version include Hallam Square, The Moor and the crossing between Howard Street and the station.

"It’s been great to see the positive reaction that the installation of our Sheffield Pride crossing on Pinstone Street has received," Cabinet Member for Transport and Sustainability Bob Johnson told Now Then.

"We will review the petition to make the crossing a permanent feature and a decision will be made in due course."

The campaign team have arranged a meeting with Sheffield Council on 9 September to discuss the proposal.

by Sam Gregory (he/him)

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