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Written by Kelly Sanchez on February 11, 2026
Miami Beach has allocated funds to install a replica of the rainbow crosswalk that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) ordered removed in October 2025 in a state ideological messaging battle.
Part of the city’s 2025 surplus will fund the replica in Lummus Park using pavers salvaged from the original rainbow crosswalk in the Art Deco District. A symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, it was designed by Savino & Miller Design and installed at Ocean Drive and 12th Street in 2018. It also honored the legacy of Leonard Horowitz, the architect and designer who introduced the iconic rainbow pastel palette to the Deco District.
“The artists and architects and landscape architects who were involved in its original creation donated their services pro bono to the city to come up with a very understated way to honor the crosswalk by flipping it almost exactly into the park,” said Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt, who sought last week’s vote. “It’s not going to add more paving, per se, to the sidewalk. It is going to replace existing pavement with these pavers.”
She cited “potential plans for an extension of this initial layout” and said the crosswalk “will be extended so it’s a true, full rainbow.”
Last August, Florida officials demanded removal of the crosswalk in a statewide effort to eliminate “surface art that is associated with social, political, or ideological messaging.” FDOT identified about 400 locations as potential distractions and safety hazards. Delray Beach and Key West were among communities hit by the mandate.
FDOT ordered Miami Beach to remove the crosswalk by early September or risk losing state funds for noncompliance with traffic standards. After the city lost its appeal to keep its rainbow crosswalk permanent, crews began to cover the colorful terrazzo pavers with black pavement as protestors held signs and chanted.
Commissioners pushed back, filing a legal appeal to keep the crosswalk. In a social media post announcing that the city lost the appeal, Alex Fernandez said public safety will always be his top priority and he respects the importance of roadway safety but “this decision runs contrary to the fact that our rainbow crosswalk has proven to be among the safest on Ocean Drive.” He said it visibly represented the city’s diversity and inclusion.
“This is a hot topic for a couple of reasons,” Ms. Bhatt said. “One is that I was there the evening that the pavers were ripped out and the number of people who stopped by and were emotional and distraught – tourists were saying, ‘We may never come back to Miami Beach.’ This is such a devaluing of who we are as a community and I would say that that ‘we’ is obviously the LGBTQ community, but it’s all of us; it’s the entirety of the Miami Beach community.”
She emphasized approving the item ahead of Miami Beach Pride – a multi-day celebration of arts and culture, including a two-day festival and parade in April. Miami Beach Pride is South Florida’s leading LGBTQ+ cultural arts organization, regularly attracting more than 185,000 attendees, according to its website.
“It is symbolic for so many people, for so many different reasons,” Ms. Bhatt said, “and it is critical that we get this approved here and now so that the city administration can move forward and have it be in place in advance of our April pride month so that we can celebrate and reclaim our proud advocacy for all of the communities who make Miami Beach home.”