Community members voted strongly in favour of putting up signs to establish the Gay Village in a survey conducted by the Gay Village Committee, according to the chair of the committee.
“I hope that what this means is it gives (Somerset Ward Coun. Diane) Holmes a strong enough mandate to move forward and simply put the signs up,” said Glenn Crawford.
The final results of the survey, which asked if the community would welcome official Gay Village signs in that neighbourhood, were 1,240 yes, 32 no, and 24 were indifferent towards the idea.
Crawford said these results will not mean immediate results for the sign project, but the committee is hoping they will influence the city to move forward.
Crawford said these results come from the whole community, not just members of the GLBTQ population.
He said the survey included 33 businesses and organizations within the Gay Village boundaries and 28 other businesses and organizations who didn’t fill out the survey but who have supported the cause by other means. There are also 31 businesses outside the village area that support the idea.
The Gay Village boundaries cover a six by two block area surrounding Bank Street. The boundaries are James Street to the south, Nepean Street to the North, Kent Street to the west and O'Connor Street to the east.
“We took a lot of time talking to everyone within a six block radius to make sure people feel ok about it,” Crawford says.
He said the committee has also received support from all three branches of government, including Holmes, Yasir Naqvi and Paul Dewar, and strong backing from newly elected mayor Jim Watson.
He said that while the committee has received a lot of encouragement, getting the Gay Village signs put up would be a big accomplishment for the GLBTQ community.
“I think that the signs particularly, although they mean a lot to our community, are designed to be inclusive and embrace our community and the entire community,” Crawford says.