Tauranga's new rainbow crossing was installed in the city centre on Wednesday. Photo / Alisha Evans
The installation of a rainbow crossing in Tauranga is bittersweet for the pride advocate who made it happen.
A new zebra crossing was installed on Devonport Rd in the city centre on Wednesday flanked by the progress pride flag.
LGBTQIA+ advocate Gordy Lockhart told Local Democracy Reporting he was unhappy Tauranga City Council hadn’t held an opening ceremony for it.
Lockhart campaigned for six years for the crossing and petitioned Tauranga City Council for one in April.
The council’s community, transparency and engagement committee approved the crossing in September.
Lockhart said he was so proud, he had a lump in throat when he first saw the crossing.
“To finally see it on the ground was just so heartwarming. It was wonderful.
“Anybody can now walk down Devonport Rd and an LGBT youth can see a symbol that says our community values you.
“As somebody who’s been through that process of coming out and being a young gay man in Scotland when it was illegal, for me to have seen that would have been life-changing.”
“Not [to] blow my own horn too much, but I did that. I’m so proud. I made a difference and that’s brilliant.”
This has been “a little bit tainted” by the council choosing not to have an opening or blessing for it, Lockhart said.
“That’s probably what makes it bittersweet. Don’t get me wrong it’s 80% absolutely sweet.”
He said he wasn’t expecting a ticker tape parade but the same kind of blessing that would be held for any new council building or public infrastructure.
In his view, an opening wasn’t held because the crossing was deemed “too divisive”.
Council general manager city development and partnerships Gareth Wallis said the council spoke to Rainbow Youth and Gender Dynamix when considering whether to hold a formal event.
“Neither of these groups were in support of an overt opening event or ceremony for the crossing.
“They were content with the installation, its intent, and indicated that they would support installation in their own way.”
The council did not as matter of principle hold an opening event or ceremony for every project completed, Wallis said.
“When we do, it is a collaborative process, that incorporates the views of many different interested and impacted stakeholders.
“Lockhart was updated throughout the installation process and [was] provided our rationale for not progressing an event and allowing the installation.”
Lockhart said the two organisations - Rainbow Youth and Gender Dynamix - were not representative of the 16,000 people who were part of the LGBTQI+ community in Tauranga.
He believed it was being “used as an excuse” to not have an opening.
The council shared photos of the crossing in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
The post said the council was “thrilled to unveil our brand new crossing, celebrating love, inclusivity and diversity in our beautiful city”.
It has gained 134 likes from the page’s 1067 followers.
Rainbow Youth regional coordinator Leanne Fry said the organisation was incredibly excited about the crossing.
“It’s super important for the city to publicly show that everyone is welcome. A lot of our rangatahi don’t feel comfortable or completely safe being openly themselves in public places in the city and this is a good first step towards changing that.”
Pedestrian crossings depicting a rainbow flag can also be found in Auckland, Gisborne, Wellington, New Plymouth and at Dunedin airport.
Earlier in the year, rainbow crossings in Gisborne and Auckland were painted over with white paint, resulting in arrests and charges of alleged vandalism.
Tauranga’s crossing faced opposition prior to installation.
An online petition was started in September calling for the crossing to be halted because of the estimated $10,000 cost.
The council was unable to provide the final cost as it was yet to receive the invoices for its installation.
Lockhart had coffee with some of the councillors on Friday to mark the crossing’s installation in an unofficial way.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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