The rainbow crosswalks on Monument Avenue have been painted over as part of routine maintenance, according to Select Board Vice Chair Danielle Leonard.
While some crosswalks around town are still in ROY G BIV style, the ones crossing Burrill Street returned to the typical black and white coloring Friday. The change has prompted debateon social media, with some expressing concernfor the LGBTQIA+ community and others arguingthat the issue has been blown out of proportion.
“The Town recognizes the significance these crosswalks have held for members of our community and appreciates the generosity and spirit behind their original installation,” the town said in a statement to the Swampscott Tides, confirming it was routine maintenance. “We want to be clear that this routine maintenance work does not reflect any change in the Town’s unyielding commitment to supporting and welcoming our LGBTQIA+ residents, families, and visitors. Swampscott remains committed to being an inclusive and welcoming community for all.”
Swampscott’s Pride crosswalks were repainted in rainbow colors in June 2025, following a donation from Rebecca and Peter Spellios and support from the Select Board
“The crosswalks were originally painted a few years back at the direction of Swampscott’s then Town Administrator, Sean Fitzgerald. We are grateful to him for helping our community voice its celebration of our differences and ensuring that friends and strangers alike – most especially our children – feel seen, loved, and safe,” Rebecca and Peter Spellios said at the time. “Now is not the time for Swampscott to lose its voice.”
Through the donation, 10 Pride crosswalks were repainted last year.
Peter Spellios told the Swampscott Tides on Friday that his family had notbeen notified of the change in advance.
Leonard said the MonumentAvenue crosswalks could be repainted in rainbow colors in the future.
“If we got another donation to do that, I would certainly vote to approve that,” Leonard said. “We do have to be cautious about what that would mean in terms of accepting gifts from people that have less than inclusive views though.”
The history of Pride marches dates back to 1970, the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising at a gay bar in Greenwich Village in New York City, according to the Library of Congress.
The first permanent rainbow crosswalks were in West Hollywood as part of the 2012 Pride Month celebrations, according to HuffPost. Similar crossings then popped up throughout the world the following year, in cities like Sydney, Australia and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Even as the colorful walkways have been widely adopted, they have been targets of defacement and vandalism. In 2011, the United States Federal Highway Administration suggested 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.” Since, in the 11th edition of the US Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, bright colored crosswalks are discouraged but no longer prohibited.
In May of 2025, Florida prohibited new installations of all aesthetic and non-standard crosswalk markings on the state highway system.
Updated October 9 at 5:50 p.m. with a statement from the town
