LaSalle now has a policy in place when it comes to specialty crosswalks.
It has become a hot button issue in the town after a local group came forward with a proposal for a rainbow crosswalk on Malden Rd at Normandy.
Council discussed the topic in February, but sent it back to administration in an effort to make the policy more inclusive.
Councillor Sue Desjarlais says decorative crosswalks are a fairly new phenomenon.
"We have a first in our community," says Desjarlais. "We've never had anyone come forward before to do a specialty sidewalk. So to make sure that going forward we're fair to everybody we do have to establish a policy. It's good that we have examples from other communities that we can use to put our policy in place."
She says the policy levels the field for any organization interested in a crosswalk.
"I do think we'll have other groups come forward and we will be fair and equitable in our decisions about where they're going to go and who they're going to be," she says. "So, going forward, I do believe that we have good grounds to put this policy in place as soon as possible."
Mayor Marc Bondy says the town needed to get a policy in place before moving forward with any proposals.
"If we're going to have a crosswalk policy, this is a good start," says Bondy. "It may be tweaked next week, next month, but we have to start somewhere and we should be fair and unbiased. We have to remember, whatever crosswalk recommendation comes forward, it's still council's decision to say yay or nay."
The new policy, which was approved unanimously, will allow local groups to apply for a specialty crosswalk, but there must be no cost to the town — installation and maintenance must be covered by the group.
Council will make the final decision on any applications that come forward.