{"id":226850,"date":"2026-04-10T21:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T21:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/226850\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T21:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T21:35:13","slug":"miami-beach-unveils-new-rainbow-crosswalk-at-lummus-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/226850\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Beach unveils new rainbow crosswalk at Lummus Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Miami<\/p>\n

Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt walks on the new rainbow walkway at Lummus Park on the day it was unveiled.<\/p>\n

PHOTO BY AL DIAZ<\/p>\n

adiaz@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n

Six months after the Florida Department of Transportation ripped up the iconic rainbow crosswalk on South Beach<\/a>, the City of Miami Beach unveiled a new walkway to commemorate its LGBTQ community Friday morning.<\/p>\n

The U-shaped rainbow walkway that cuts into Lummus Park, made from over 3,000 colorful pavers, is just feet away from where the original rainbow crosswalks were. The new installation features the same Art Deco-inspired design as the original. The rainbow-themed crosswalk was designed by Savino Design, which also designed the original crosswalk that was removed by the state.<\/p>\n

The unveiling comes as Miami Beach prepares to celebrate its 18th annual Pride parade on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Last October, Miami Beach residents, beachgoers, city officials and drag queens were shocked to see FDOT workers dismantle the rainbow crosswalk on Ocean Drive and 12th Street which was installed in 2018.<\/p>\n

The removal came after FDOT ordered local governments, including Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Key West, to remove pavement art \u201cassociated with social, political, or ideological messages\u201d \u2014 or risk losing state funding. In August, FDOT painted over the rainbow sidewalk located near the site of the 2016 Pulse Nightclub mass shooting<\/a> in Orlando. The sidewalk was a memorial to the 49 people killed in the mass shooting at the gay nightclub.<\/p>\n

\"The The rainbow walkway in Lummus Park is made of 3,606 colorful pavers. The installation was created less than six months after the Florida Department of Transportation removed the original crosswalk at 12th Street and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

Local governments and activists at the time criticized the state\u2019s push to remove crosswalk art as an overstep of local authority and attempt to erase Florida\u2019s LGBTQ community. The crosswalk\u2019s new location near Lummus Park, as opposed to an active roadway, is meant to protect the installation from further FDOT complaints.<\/p>\n

Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez, the only openly gay commission member, thanked his straight colleagues for their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the State forcibly removed this crosswalk, it was our straight allies on the Miami Beach City Commission who ensured our gay community would not be pushed into the shadows. Our allies understood that this crosswalk symbolizes a history of perseverance through the stigma of HIV\/AIDS, the injustice of military exclusion, workplace and housing discrimination, and the long fight for the right to marry and to build a family,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cI am deeply grateful to my straight colleagues for their leadership in upholding the uncompromising values of love, compassion, and equality. It is a powerful reminder that our allies will help us overcome this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

State officials said art in crosswalks was unsafe<\/a> for drivers and pedestrians, though city commissioners said the Ocean Drive rainbow crosswalk was safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cRipping out a crosswalk that was emblematic of Miami Beach\u2019s embrace of our LGBTQ+ residents and visitors, at what was literally the safest intersection of Ocean Drive, was a real slap in the face to our residents and visitors,\u201d said Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s so important and gratifying to be able to rise above the manufactured culture wars to build something lasting, recognizing the struggle and celebrating the love that this new installation represents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Performing Drag performer C.C. Glitzer sits on the rainbow-colored bench as Miami Beach officials and community members gather in Lummus Park for the unveiling of a rebuilt LGBTQ+ walkway. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com \"Miami Miami Beach Commissioner Joseph Magazine and Ernesto Vasallo, left to right, carry a rainbow painted bench to Lummus Park. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com \"Miami Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt speaks as city officials and community members gather in Lummus Park for the unveiling of the new rainbow walkway. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com \"Miami Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner speaks as city officials and community members gather in Lummus Park for the unveiling of the new rainbow walkway. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com \"Miami Miami Beach officials and community members gathered at Lummus Park on Friday, April 10, 2026, for the unveiling of the new LGBTQ+ walkway . PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com \"Miami Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt speaks as city officials and community members gather in Lummus Park to unveil the new rainbow walkway. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com \"Miami Miami Beach officials and community members gathered at Lummus Park for the unveiling of a rebuilt LGBTQ+ crosswalk made of 3,606 colorful pavers on Friday, April 10, 2026. The installation was created less than six months after the Florida Department of Transportation removed the original crosswalk at 12th Street and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Florida. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 3:43 PM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami Beach Commissioner Tanya K. Bhatt walks on the new rainbow walkway at Lummus Park on the day…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-226850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}