A rainbow crossing or rainbow crosswalk is a pedestrian crossing that has the art of the rainbow flag installed to celebrate the LGBTQ community.
Rainbow crosswalks may be installed just for particular occasions, such as events or Pride parades. Others may be permanent fixtures of cities, especially when they are installed in gay villages.
The rainbow flag or gay pride flag, is associated with the LGBTQ community activities around the world.
The idea to create rainbow crosswalks appears to have first emerged in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2008. The first permanent rainbow crosswalks were introduced in West Hollywood as part of the 2012 Gay Pride Month celebrations.
This inspired similar crossings in Sydney, Australia, the following year, as well as some temporary rainbow crossings in other cities such as Tel Aviv for a photo shoot to promote TYP: Ivri Lider and Johnny Goldstein, the act scheduled to headline the Gay Pride Parade's main concert. These photos, reminiscent of the Beatles Abbey Road album cover were posted on Facebook and the crosswalk was repainted white a few hours later.
Following some of the temporary and early permanent installations in 2012 and 2013, the symbolism of rainbow crossings has gained widespread adoption by cities around the world to celebrate the LGBTQ community with many having been made into permanent installations. With that they have also been subject to regular attacks and vandalism by people opposed to them.
The first rainbow crossing in New Zealand was installed in Beach street Queenstown in 2018, and as of 2026 there are five permanent rainbow crossings in New Zealand.
In May 2025, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1662 to keep "our transportation facilities free & clear of political ideologies." Soon after, the Florida Department of Transportation ordered the removal or rainbow crossings across the state. In at least one city, officials responded by installing rainbow colored bike racks in protest.
The DIY rainbow crossing movement was a protest movement that emerged in Sydney, Australia, in 2013 that involved people creating rainbow pedestrian crossings in chalk as well as engaging in internet activism to protest the removal of a rainbow crossing from Oxford Street Darlinghurst in the LGBTQIA+ district of Sydney.
The first rainbow crossing in Australia was created in Darlinghurst by the City of Sydney as part of the 35th-anniversary celebration of the Sydney Mardi Gras and lasted from the 25 February 2013 to 10 April 2013. It has been commented that the "Rainbow crosswalks on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood were Lord Mayor Clover Moore's inspiration... ...[and] council hoped that the crossing would be just as successful as those on Santa Monica Boulevard and that public opinion would persuade the New South Wales roads minister to allow the crossing to remain in place."
On 14 April 2013, members of the community from several local schools chalked a rainbow in the public square at Lackey St, Summer Hill, as part of the DIY Rainbow Crossing movement, and on 15 April 2013, Ashfield Council workers removed the rainbow and the council issued a statement labelling it a slip hazard and requesting a permit be obtained before it could be re-chalked.
On 17 April 2013, it was rechalked by more than 100 people, including Ashfield local councillor Alex Lofts after an art permit was obtained and on 18 April, it was again removed. The rainbow was re-chalked again and since 18 April it has now remained chalked with a group of local community members and supporters continuing to chalk in the rainbow, especially after rain. This group also hold occasional performances and arts-related celebrations at the site and some local businesses have offered discounts and support for the rainbow with these businesses display a logo with a stylised image of the rainbow crossing on it. A Summer Hill Rainbow Crossing Facebook page was also used to support the community protest.
At an Ashfield Council meeting on 28 May 2013, the council passed a motion that a permanent outline of a rainbow be painted in Summer Hill Square, with the understanding that this may be periodically 'chalked in' by community members and on 3 November 2013 this outline was installed in the square becoming New South Wales first permanent rainbow crossing.
In 2019 a permanent rainbow crossing was installed in Taylor Square, Darlinghurst, in the LGBTQIA+ district of Sydney on the corner of Bourke and Campbell streets and this crossing was updated in 2024 to include the Progress Pride Flag. In 2025 a second permanent Rainbow crossing with the Progress Pride Flag was installed in Taylor Square Darlinghurst at the corner of Bourke and Forbes streets.
The original DIY rainbow crossing protest movement was generated by the debate over the rainbow crossing in Sydney, however DIY rainbow crossings continue to appear as protests in other settings including a crossing outside the Russian embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, in August 2013 in protest against new legislation in Russia.
Rainbow paths are very similar to rainbow crossings with the main difference being they do not exist on roads but on footpaths, cycleways and in public parks. In 2016 Australia's first permanent rainbow path was installed in Light Square in Adelaide and in 2021 rainbow paths were installed in Prince Alfred Park in Sydney and along the footpath adjacent to Cooggee Beach in Sydney with the path in Prince Alfred Park becoming permanent. The rainbow path in Prince Alfred Park was updated in 2024 to include the Progress Pride Flag.
In prepearation for Sydney hosting World Pride in 2023 new temporary rainbow paths were installed in Waterman's Cove in Barangaroo and in Kensington street, Chippendale.
In 2017 in Mount Albert, Auckland a Rainbow path was installed that stretched for almost 500 metres along a cycle route, and in 2021 a 570-metre rainbow path was installed along a bicycle route in Utrecht, running through Utrecht university.
In 2011, the United States Federal Highway Administration advised, without data, that "crosswalk art is actually contrary to the goal of increased safety and most likely could be a contributing factor to a false sense of security for both motorists and pedestrians".
In early September 2019, the city council of Ames, Iowa, cut the ribbon on a rainbow crosswalk. Subsequently, the Federal Highway Administration sent them a letter "requesting" that it be removed. The city council ignored the letter.
Since then, the 11th edition of the US Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices discourages bright colors from use within a crosswalk but no longer prohibits them, provided that the colors are not standard for use in other traffic control applications. However, symbols in addition to the rainbow may not be permissible depending on the application.
In the United Kingdom, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has complained about the risk of rainbow crossings for people with visual impairments, who may rely on the contrast between traditional black and white stripes in order to cross the road safely.
Other disability groups have said that people with dementia or learning disabilities may not recognise that they are road crossings, or that the colours may be overwhelming for autistic people or guide dogs. In response to an open letter by the RNIB, the Alzheimer's Society and Scope, London mayor Sadiq Khan temporarily paused the crossings.
A 2022 study by Bloomberg Philanthropies found that 17 sites with asphalt art had a 17% reduction in crashes and a 50% reduction in crashes with pedestrians after their painting; though, the study does not mention rainbow crossings explicitly. An analysis of decorative crosswalks in Orlando, Florida, found more pedestrian crossings after their installation alongside a decrease in dangerous driving behaviors.
Rainbow crossings around the world have been regular targets of homophobic attacks and vandalism such as defacement.
In early June 2019, the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, unveiled a rainbow crosswalk on the historic U.S. Route 66. Just a few days later, a motorcycle gang caused a significant amount of damage to the $30,000 crossing with their motorcycles.
In August 2022, police in Atlanta arrested a suspect that was said to have defaced the city's rainbow crosswalk by painting swastikas over it.
In October 2022, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated a potential hate crime after a severed pig's head was found on a rainbow crosswalk outside a school near Spruce Grove, Alberta.
In February 2024, a rainbow crosswalk in Redmond, Washington, was defaced by vandals with slurs using spraypaint.
In March 2024, a rainbow crossing in Gisborne, New Zealand, was painted white by members of Destiny Church. They attempted to paint it again after it was restored and five were arrested. A rainbow crossing on Karangahape Road in Auckland was subsequently defaced in the same manner, but Destiny Church denied involvement.
In June 2024, a video showed a pickup truck doing burnouts on a newly installed rainbow crossing in Huntington, West Virginia.
On 22 February 2024, a by-law was passed by referendum in the Canadian town of Westlock, Alberta, which prohibits the painting of crosswalks with non-standard colors, or the flying of flags on municipal property that represent "political, social, or religious movements or commercial entities". The referendum was proposed by petition, with its supporters claiming that it was meant to promote governmental "neutrality" on social issues.
The bill's passage was criticized by Westlock's mayor and other local politicians, who believed that it was specifically meant to restrict LGBTQ pride commemorations by the municipal government. A rainbow crossing had been painted in Westlock for the first time in 2023, but was subsequently removed to comply with the neutrality bill.
Later that year, a similar by-law inspired by the Wastlock ban was passed in Barrhead, Alberta, while groups have advocated for similar laws in other Canadian municipalities.
In 2025, the US state of Florida officially prohibited new installations of all aesthetic and non-standard crosswalk markings on the state highway system, which includes rainbow crosswalks. A rainbow crossing in Orlando, painted in 2017 to honor the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting, was removed in August 2025.
This list below includes all rainbow crossings of notability but does not include all crossings in existence.