Hamilton Unveils Remembrance Day Crosswalk to Honour Veterans

The City of Hamilton’s Remembrance Day crosswalk in the Stoney Creek community in a recent photo. Courtesy of Christopher Redford

The City of Hamilton has created its first commemorative Remembrance Day crosswalk in collaboration with local veterans.

Christopher Redford, Hamilton’s heritage presentation coordinator, told The Epoch Times in a phone interview that they looked at several designs before deciding on one.

The crosswalk has red and white stripes and at each end features a silhouette of a soldier and the words “Lest We Forget” in black. It’s located next to the Stoney Creek Cenotaph where a Remembrance Day ceremony will be held on Nov. 11, the Battlefield Stoney Creek Legion said in a post on social media platform X on Oct. 23.

It’s something Redford said he hopes will remind people of the sacrifice of veterans more often.

“People tend to take notice because people think it’s a small way that you can remember at the locations where cenotaphs are,” he said.

The Stoney Creek Cenotaph was erected in 1922 and commemorates the lives lost in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

The city has already been receiving feedback from the public on the crosswalk design, which has all been positive, he said, including comments from someone in Vancouver who saw images of the crosswalk on social media.

The crosswalk will play a role in the local Remembrance Day ceremony this year, Redford said.

“Before the Remembrance Day ceremony in Stoney Creek, the Legion will be having a little dedication [ceremony],” he said. “Everybody will be standing out there on the crosswalk, looking at it.”

Redford said the design is painted directly on the street and will be repainted when it wears out.

It could also be the first of many for the community, he said.

“There are seven different ceremonies held for remembrance in Hamilton at different cenotaphs, so that opens up the possibility of other ones coming to exist,” he said. “For this year, anyway, we’re pleased just that this has come to fruition, and we'll see what the future brings.”

Hamilton is not the only Ontario municipality that has decided to commemorate Remembrance Day in this way. Chatham-Kent also installed a painted crosswalk in honour of veterans for this year’s ceremonies.

“In Chatham-Kent, we are proud to honour our veterans,” the municipality said in a Nov. 1 post on Facebook.

“This crosswalk is painted in commemoration of those who serve, have served, and those who sacrificed on behalf of our country,” the post said.

The municipality said it had unveiled another Remembrance Day crosswalk in Blenheim a week earlier. It is located outside the Blenheim Legion, according to a Nov. 4 Facebook post.

“With Remembrance Day approaching, we continue our show of support to the veterans of Chatham-Kent, past, present and future,” the post said.

The municipality said it would be unveiling more Remembrance Day crosswalks in the near future.