LaSalle considers Remembrance Day commemorative crosswalk

Remembrance Day crosswalk at Dalhousie Street and Murray Street in Amherstburg, Ont. seen on Nov. 8, 2024. (Stefanie Masotti/CTV News Windsor

The Town of LaSalle may soon see its first ever commemorative crosswalk.

Council will be presented with a report Tuesday evening looking for approval to install a Remembrance Day commemorative crosswalk at the existing crosswalk located on Normandy Drive at the Cenotaph Park area.

Administration is recommending council approve the crosswalk with a price tag just shy of $3,000.

A similar crosswalk exists in Amherstburg at the corner of Dalhousie Street and Murray Street to honour military veterans.

The proposed design would mirror the crosswalk in Amherstburg. It would feature alternating red and white blocks across the crosswalk, a silhouette of a lone soldier and the words “Lest We Forget” painted in black at each end.

Deputy Mayor Michael Akpata says this request hits close to home for him and would be a great way to honour those who served. Akpata joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1987 and served in Afghanistan in 2007.

He said it will be a place to reflect and thank those who served and continue to serve.

“So if they just take a pause, and look at it, and say some words in their head, then that’s what we’re trying to do. We need to acknowledge who we are, how we got here, and how much we have, and that there are people who gave everything so that we can have what we have to live in this country and our community.”

If approved, standard road paint would be used which is cost effective and simple to repair or touch up the crosswalk if needed.

Local line painting contractor Top-It Asphalt Maintenance, who has experience with this type of project, is expected to complete the work.

The work will require partial nighttime lane closures on Normandy and is expected to take one to two nights to complete. If approved by council, the work would be scheduled for late summer.

— Meagan Delaurier/AM800 News