Around this time in 2013 the business of the Rainbow Crossing on Oxford Street at Taylor Square came to a head. It followed a decision in 2012 by the City of Sydney to temporarily repaint two pedestrian crossings in Oxford Street in rainbow colours, in time for the 35^thSydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade in 2013. It wasn't an entirely original idea. Rainbow crosswalks were painted on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood as part of the 2012 Gay Pride Month celebrations there and were such a success that they were allowed to remain. The two rainbow crossings in Oxford Street in Sydney were supposed to cost $75,000 but by February 2013 the estimated cost had blown out so much that only one was painted, at Taylor Square. It too was an instant success. After the Mardi Gras the Lord Mayor Clover Moore wanted to leave the crossing in place permanently but Roads Minister Duncan Gay insisted that it be removed because it was a safety hazard with, for instance, people standing in the way of traffic to pose for photographs on the crossing. There was a great deal of controversy around the rainbow crossing, with people writing to the papers and on social media either supporting or condemning it. But in the event, by order of the Minister, late on Wednesday 10^th April, and in the early hours of Thursday 11^th, the rainbow crossing was jack-hammered up, the road was resurfaced and the crossing was repainted with regulation white lines. What happened next was truly amazing. Immediately after the rainbow crossing was removed, activist James Brechney created a chalk crossing in a Surry Hills laneway and started a Facebook page encouraging people to get chalking. And people did, for a mixture of reasons: support for the Lord Mayor Clover Moore and resistance to the State Government as embodied by Roads Minister, Duncan Gay; disappointment at the removal of a colourful addition to Sydney streets; gay pride, and solidarity with the gay community; and support for same-sex marriage. Suddenly people were chalking rainbow crossings all over Sydney, committing little acts of civil disobedience by graffiti on the pavements. Megan Hicks is author of The Decorated Footpath and Reading the Roads. Sydney's Rainbow Crossing will be her third entry for the Dictionary of Sydney and will be published later in the year. If you missed Megan on 2SER Breakfast this morning, you can catch up here. We will be back again next week to hear how Sydney first commemorated Anzac day in Sydney. Tune in at 8:20am, 107.3 FM.