Rainbow Crosswalk Squamish: TrafficPatterns on Squamish Nation Territory
The Squamish Nation approached us about a rainbow crosswalk at Capilano Road and Welchon — a location on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish).
Rainbow crosswalks have become meaningful civic installations across BC over the past several years. Done well, they signal community values in a way that lasts. Done poorly — with paint — they fade within a season.
Why TrafficPatterns
We specified TrafficPatterns preformed thermoplastic for this install. The product comes as factory-cut sheets in the exact colour layout required. The crew torches the asphalt surface and the sheet simultaneously; as the material cools, it fuses directly into the pavement.
For a rainbow crosswalk, the colour fidelity requirement is unforgiving. Each stripe has to stay distinct and saturated — red isn't allowed to drift toward orange, violet isn't allowed to fade to grey. TrafficPatterns holds its hue substantially longer than any painted or sprayed alternative we work with on BC roads.
We also specified Corundum (crushed diamonds) aggregate embedded in the surface layer. This adds traction for both pedestrians and vehicles — particularly relevant at a crosswalk that will see heavy use — while contributing to the structural integrity of the finished marking.
The Install
The crosswalk is located at Capilano Road and Welchon. Installation is a one-day operation for a crew this size. The asphalt receives a heat treatment, the sheets are laid in sequence and torched in, and the surface is ready for traffic within hours of cooling.
Expected service life at full colour saturation: eight to twelve years on a standard Lower Mainland road with moderate traffic volumes. We're tracking several of our earlier rainbow crosswalk installs that are five-plus years in and still reading cleanly from distance.
The Squamish Nation joins a growing list of municipalities and First Nations communities across BC who've chosen thermoplastic crosswalk systems over paint. The reasoning is the same every time: the maintenance calculus changes completely when you're not repainting every eighteen months.
If you're specifying a rainbow or pride crosswalk for a BC municipality, district, or First Nation, reach out to discuss product and timeline.
