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\n As cities across Florida face a state-imposed deadline next week to remove rainbow-colored crosswalks and other street art, at least three say they will appeal, arguing in part that the directive robs their neighborhoods of artistic expressions representing their cities\u2019 dedication to diversity and inclusivity of LGBTQ+ communities.\n <\/p>\n
\n Others, meanwhile, have yielded or indicated they will agree to the state\u2019s demands for removals of street art \u2013 not just LGTBQ-themed designs, but art nearly across the board \u2013 citing the state\u2019s threat to cut transportation funding if they don\u2019t.\n <\/p>\n
\n Fort Lauderdale, whose leaders want to keep its rainbow-colored road art<\/a>, on Wednesday night became the latest to indicate it will challenge the state\u2019s order, with the city commission voting unanimously in a special meeting<\/a> to pursue an administrative appeal to the Florida Department of Transportation.\n <\/p>\n \n The city joins at least two other communities looking to keep rainbow crosswalks \u2013 Key West<\/a> and Delray Beach<\/a> \u2013 in requesting a FDOT hearing ahead of the removal deadlines of September 3 or 4, depending on the city.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cTonight, we must stand our ground. We cannot allow us to be bullied into submission and to allow others to dictate what we should do in our own communities,\u201d Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said at Wednesday\u2019s city commission meeting.\n <\/p>\n \n The crosswalk battle comes after FDOT issued a June 30 memo<\/a> saying its policy prohibits \u201cpavement or surface art\u201d \u2013 or any markings not directly supporting traffic control or public safety \u2013 on crosswalks and travel lanes, including \u201cpavement surface art that is associated with social, political, or ideological messages or images.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n FDOT then sent letters to city leaders across the state this month, identifying road markings it said needed removal, and threatening \u201cwithholding of state funds\u201d if the cities didn\u2019t comply by deadlines of early September.\n <\/p>\n \n The policy gained national attention last week when the state removed,<\/a> overnight, a rainbow crosswalk from a state road in Orlando outside Pulse, the gay nightclub where 49 people were killed <\/a>in 2016. That removal was decried<\/a> by Orlando\u2019s mayor as a \u201ccruel political act.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The state says the initiative to remove \u201cpavement art\u201d is about safety, clarity and compliance with a new law<\/a>, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in June.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe have a new law and we have a new standard, and we\u2019re simply implementing that standard, and it\u2019s across the board,\u201d FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue said this week at a news conference<\/a>. \u201cPavement art is not allowed, and we\u2019re removing everything that\u2019s not compliant.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n But DeSantis himself indicated the move in part targets removal of what he calls political expression. Responding to a state senator\u2019s criticism of the removal of Orlando\u2019s rainbow crosswalk, he posted to X<\/a>: \u201cWe will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Advocacy group Equality Florida said it has identified 12 Florida cities that were asked to removed rainbow crossw\ufeffalks, often associated with LGBTQ rights and pride.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cRon DeSantis is extorting Florida cities by threatening to withhold millions in taxpayer-funded relief unless they bow to his demands,\u201d Equality Florida\u2019s executive director, Nadine Smith, said in a statement to CNN. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about safety. It\u2019s a cowardly abuse of power and the latest in his campaign to ban books, whitewash history, and attack LGBTQ people.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n For Fort Lauderdale, FDOT demanded the city remedy four areas of colored pavement by September 4 \u2013 one in the design of a Progress Pride flag<\/a>, and three that aren\u2019t<\/a> rainbow<\/a> themed<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n On Monday, about 50 people gathered along Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Sebastian Street, location of the Pride road art<\/a>, to protest the demand, CNN affiliate WPLG reported<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The Pride-themed road art represents \u201ca gateway for all of the tourists who visit our community who want to find the LGBTQ+ community,\u201d protester Patrik Gallineaux told WPLG. \u201cWhen they see this rainbow, they know they are home.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In a crowded city hall in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday evening, the five members of the city commission, including the mayor and vice mayor, met to discuss the FDOT letter.\n <\/p>\n \n Public comment overwhelmingly opposed capitulation to the state\u2019s mandate.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m a taxpayer, and I want my money to be used on the right things, not to infringe on people\u2019s rights,\u201d one man said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI look forward to how this crisis gives us an opportunity to say once again, we\u2019re here, we\u2019re queer, get used to it,\u201d another said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s un-American and unpatriotic,\u201d a woman said.\n <\/p>\n \n The commission voted unanimously to pursue an administrative appeal to FDOT. In a second vote, all but one person voted to appoint law firm Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman to represent the city should it become necessary.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m sure that the state will find every way they can to associate their actions and to make it look like they\u2019re trying to enforce traffic control mechanisms,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cBut as it\u2019s been said time and again, it\u2019s simply a camouflage for their true intent, which is to erase and eliminate all or as many LGBTQ references in the state as possible.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The law firm is representing Fort Lauderdale, Key West and Delray Beach, the firm told CNN without additional comment.\n <\/p>\n \n Key West has an informal hearing with FDOT in Orlando on September 3, the same day as Key West\u2019s deadline to remove its rainbow crosswalk, according to Mayor Danise DeeDee Henriquez.\n <\/p>\n \n Delray Beach, whose leaders also voted<\/a> to request a hearing with FDOT, faces a September 3 deadline to comply with the state\u2019s demands. FDOT\u2019s letter to the city said it could have a hearing September 2.\n <\/p>\n \n The letters to all three cities say that if they do not comply, FDOT itself will remove the markings, and the cities will be subject to the withholding of funds.\n <\/p>\n \n A fourth city, Miami Beach, may also appeal. The city was given a September 4 deadline to remove its rainbow crosswalk, The Associated Press reported<\/a>. Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez intends to suggest appealing the order during a meeting one day before the deadline, the AP reported.\n <\/p>\n \n In June, DeSantis signed a law<\/a> authorizing the withholding of state transportation funds to cities not in compliance with FDOT\u2019s policies. FDOT then issued its June 30 memo<\/a>, which said nonstandard street markings \u201ccan lead to distraction or misunderstandings, jeopardizing both driver and pedestrian safety.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n A day after the state memo was issued, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to governors of all 50 states saying intersections and crosswalks should be \u201ckept free from distractions\u201d and giving states a late-August deadline to submit a list of major issues it will fix. The letter didn\u2019t elaborate, but Duffy appeared to do so in a related X post<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cTaxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks,\u201d Duffy said about the letter July 1 on X. \u201cPolitical banners have no place on public roads.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n As far back as 2011<\/a>, the Federal Highway Administration discouraged<\/a> communities from painting colorful or differently designed crosswalks, citing a threat to safety. But they emerged nevertheless, and West Hollywood, California, claims to be the first city<\/a> to have installed a permanent rainbow crosswalk, in 2012.\n <\/p>\n \n Since Duffy\u2019s July 1 memo, no major moves against rainbow-colored crosswalks or street artwork outside Florida have been apparent.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cSome of these crosswalks and markings have been in place for years and years, so claiming this is about public safety just doesn\u2019t hold up,\u201d a spokesperson for LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD told CNN about Florida\u2019s moves. \u201cFlorida officials\u2019 complaining about \u2018political statements\u2019 proves this is another effort to stomp on people\u2019s rights to free speech and expression, and it spreads the lie that support for LGBTQ people is something other than basic respect and kindness.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n DeSantis this week said<\/a> Florida\u2019s policy came after \u201ccertainly in other parts of the country, (pavement art) got way out of control to where really the safety and the use of the roads was almost secondary to people being able to appropriate that for different types of messaging.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to be in a situation where we\u2019re playing whack-a-mole and (saying), \u2018Well, that mural is fine, but that\u2019s not \u2013 we think the pedestrians may get confused there.\u2019 \u2026 Because then, you get into, like, \u2018Oh, is this a content thing\u2019 and all that. No. We\u2019re just not doing it. We\u2019re out of that business in Florida,\u201d DeSantis said.\n <\/p>\n \n Across the state, many different styles of pavement art are affected \u2013 not just rainbows, but also designs nodding to racial equality, police, and a university.\n <\/p>\n \n Even Daytona International Speedway hasn\u2019t been spared, with its checkered flag crosswalk being painted over, according to WPLG<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n In St. Petersburg, city leaders last week requested that five street art projects be spared, a rainbow-colored intersection, a Black Lives Matter mural and a University of South Florida-themed crosswalk, the AP reported<\/a>. The request was denied, according to the AP.\n <\/p>\n \n In West Palm Beach, city crews used a pressure washer to remove rainbow colors from a crosswalk this week, according to the mayor\u2019s office. The city said it had previously purchased rainbow-colored bricks to update the crosswalk, but the city now plans to use the bricks to create an LGBTQ+ monument<\/a> in a neighborhood park.\n <\/p>\n \n Crews in Tampa are removing street art this week, city spokesman Joshua Cascio said. A \u201cBack the Blue\u201d mural<\/a> on the street outside police headquarters is included in art to be removed, according to a list of pavement art locations provided to CNN by the city.\n <\/p>\n \n Also on the chopping block are painted bike lanes outside an Orlando elementary school, according to city commissioner Jim Gray\u2019s office. The bike lanes were designed by two fourth-graders who won an FDOT art contest<\/a> to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety, according to the school.\n <\/p>\n \n Four areas of street or sidewalk art will be removed in Sarasota, city spokesperson Jan Thornburg told CNN. \u201cThe city of Sarasota is not in a position to jeopardize state funding,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n \n In Gainesville, three<\/a> rainbow<\/a> crosswalks<\/a> were being removed this week from downtown, and the colored bricks that comprised one of them would be preserved for \u201cfuture projects,\u201d the city said in an email.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Facebook Tweet Email Link As cities across Florida face a state-imposed deadline next week to remove rainbow-colored crosswalks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-3441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3441","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=3441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/gettyimages-2230555838.jpg\")
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