At the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott, state transportation officials told local leaders to remove crosswalk art often used to mark historically LGBTQ+ neighborhoods or risk losing millions in funding.
The Texas Tribune – At the intersection of North Main Avenue and West Evergreen Street just north of downtown San Antonio, semi-faded rainbows connect each street corner in place of standard, white crosswalks.
The intersection is located at the center of the city’s “gay strip,” a cluster of blocks long known as a home to San Antonio’s LGBTQ+ residents. City officials designated the area as the “Pride Cultural Heritage District” in June, seven years after the rainbow crosswalk was laid down.
But the colors that pave the four-way intersection may soon be erased, as San Antonio and other Texas cities face a Friday deadline to decide whether to remove their queer-themed crosswalks or lose millions in state funding. The crackdown came at the behest of Gov. Greg Abbott, who directed the Texas Department of Transportation in early October to make sure cities and counties remove roadway art displays that “advance political agendas” and “ideologies,” in the name of enhancing safety by limiting distractions.
Abbott’s office declined to answer questions about the order, directing the Tribune to the governor’s Oct. 8 press release announcing the clampdown.
That same day, TxDOT sent a letter to local transportation officials mandating the removal of “non-standard” road markings within 30 days. State standards require crosswalks to be composed solely of white lines that meet certain specifications.
Advocates and local officials have said the order is not about safety, but is rather a political move designed to strip away emblems commemorating areas with significant LGBTQ+ community or history.
“There’s nothing illegal about this crosswalk,” Pride San Antonio executive James Poindexter said. “There’s nothing political about it. The politics is in [Abbott’s] brain only.”
