Halifax Regional Municipality began its rainbow crosswalk pilot project overnight Tuesday.

The four crosswalks to be painted in rainbow colours to reflect "diversity and inclusion" are:

Gottingen and Cornwallis streets

Spring Garden Road and Barrington Street

Spring Garden Road and South Park Street

Alderney Drive and Ochterloney Street

"The rainbow flag is synonymous with the LGBTQ+ community and as such the municipality is showing its support by laying down the colours in some of our crosswalks, just in time for Halifax Pride 2016," a news release said.

Safety standards

The painting started at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday at Barrington Street and will be done on Spring Garden Road, Gottingen Street and then Alderney Drive. Work is expected to be completed by the end of the week.

Intersections with overhead signals were chosen for the project to conform with government safety standards.

Last year, Wolfville attempted a similar project, painting a rainbow crosswalk on its Main Street, but was forced to repaint the white stripes after a letter from the province about safety hazards.

Wolfville's mayor said the town's rainbow crosswalk must have been painted with an interior paint because in just a few months it started to fade. (Submitted by Robyn McMillan)

The Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal told the town the design did not conform with provincial or national standards. The crosswalk's non-white markings might not be recognized or show up properly at night, the department said.​