A second veterans’ crosswalk is planned for Market and Main streets when weather allows
SMITHS FALLS — Paint crews were on their haunches after sunrise Tuesday, Nov. 4 as the first of two maple leaf Veterans’ crosswalks began to take shape downtown. It’s a project the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 95 has been pushing toward for nearly two years.
Public Works employees Bill Swerbrick and Amanda Perrin were laying down the stencil and taping off edges at the corner of Beckwith and Main streets, while foreman Allan Gorman checked progress and adjusted traffic cones and barricades as needed.
Legion member Ken Manwell, who has shepherded the project through legion approvals and council presentations, stood nearby watching the first coat go down.
“It feels awesome to finally see it,” Manwell said. “We got approval back on Oct. 6. I went to Howling Design the next day and said, go for it. We thought it would take five to seven working days, but it was longer. Then suddenly I get the message Friday that the stencil was in and they were painting today.”
The maple leaf design is in both French and English and follows requirements set out by Legion Command. Earlier in the process, members had asked whether a silhouette of a soldier or a poppy could be included in the crosswalk design. That idea was ruled out after other communities received complaints.
“People said they wished it could show a soldier, but there were complaints in other towns that it was desecrating the soldier,” Manwell said. “Same with the poppy. Command decided the maple leaf was the way to go.”
The reusable stencil is heavy enough that rollers cannot be used. It will be stored at the Smiths Falls Police Service.
“It has to be dabbed, not rolled,” Perrin explained as she worked. “If you roll it, the paint seeps under the stencil. You start light, let it tack, then do a second pass so everything stays crisp.”
Gorman added, with a laugh, that kneeling on cold pavement all morning was not the glamour side of municipal work, but worth it for such a meaningful project.
The second veterans’ crosswalk will be installed at Market and Main streets once weather allows, but may not be in time for Remembrance Day, noted the crew’s foreman, Allan Gorman.
“It’s twice as wide at the other end,” he said. “It’s about 20 meters and will take two days.”
The project cost about $1,800 and covers paint, labour and the stencil. Council agreed earlier this fall that the town would absorb the cost as a contribution to the legion’s community work.
Manwell said the reaction from residents has already been overwhelming.
“We put a photo up on Facebook and it blew up. So many comments. People love it,” he said. “It honours our veterans every day, not just once a year.”
The legion’s annual Poppy Campaign is underway until Nov. 10. Wreaths for Remembrance Day ceremonies can be ordered by calling 613-283-2101. Money raised through the campaign supports veterans and their families throughout the year.
Smiths Falls will hold its annual Remembrance Day service on Nov. 11 at the cenotaph along Confederation Drive, beginning with the parade forming at the legion hall, 7 Main St. Veterans, cadets, firefighters, police, politicians, and community groups will march to the cenotaph for the wreath-laying ceremony and the Act of Remembrance.
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