Bianca Seward/Houston Public Media
Construction workers removed the rainbow crosswalks at the intersection of Westheimer Road and Taft Street on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025.
Less than three weeks after being repainted, the rainbow crosswalks in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood were removed Monday morning as construction crews tore up the asphalt at the intersection of Westheimer Road and Taft Street, chipping away strips of colorful concrete.
Montrose residents came to the intersection to watch the removal of a symbol celebrating the community’s LGBTQ+ residents. Some of them had come just to see the removal. Others were on their work commutes.
Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
Construction crews chip away at green paint from Montrose’s rainbow crosswalks on Oct. 20, 2025.
“It feels petty, you know?” Montrose Chris Ordonez resident said. “This is the fight we’re having right now, really? Really? With a lot of the climate issues and a lot of the loss of freedom of speech being abandoned, we’re talking about street walks.”
Next to the intersection, Jeffery Gielow, who owns Houston Bicycle Company, a bike shop on Taft less than a block away from the intersection, had witnessed the initial removal in September, the reinstatement, and their ultimate removal on Monday.
“It takes a lot of hate to dig up a rainbow,” Gielow said. He expressed frustrations that “nobody seems to care” that the crosswalks were built in 2017 as a memorial to 21-year-old Alex Hill, who was struck and killed by a driver at the intersection in 2016. “They dug it up. They threw it away. How do you think his family feels?”
Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
Protestors at Montrose’s rainbow crosswalks left messages reading “Keep our rainbow” and “If my tax $$ fund your private schools, they can fund our rights!”
Just a day prior, protestors met at the intersection of Westheimer and Taft to push back against the crosswalks’ removal. That protest, which lasted into the early hours of the morning, ultimately resulted in four people being arrested overnight by Houston police for blocking the roadways, according to a spokesperson for the Houston Police Department.
The rainbow crosswalks had been removed in September as part of construction along the Westheimer corridor. Officials with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO) said they planned to repaint it after reviewing federal guidance. The crosswalks were repainted on Oct. 1.
In July, the U.S. Department of Transportation ordered state governments to evaluate roadways with messages, signage and other art for removal, arguing such works are distractions on roadways. After Montrose’s rainbow crosswalks were put back in place, drawing attention from politically conservative voices, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered cities and counties to remove such messaging. Hours after that memo, METRO said it would remove the rainbow crosswalks.
Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
A before-and-after depiction of the rainbow crosswalks on Oct. 9, 2025 (left) and Oct. 20, 2025 (right). 
Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
A before-and-after depiction of the rainbow crosswalks on Oct. 9, 2025 (left) and Oct. 20, 2025 (right). 
A before-and-after depiction of the rainbow crosswalks on Oct. 14, 2025 (left) and Oct. 20, 2025 (right).
A spokesperson for METRO had previously told Houston Public Media they could not provide a cost estimate for how much taxpayer money was used to remove the rainbow crosswalks until after they were removed. METRO was not immediately available to provide that information on Monday morning.
Houston city leaders have largely criticized the rainbow crosswalks’ removal. Last week, in his first comments on the matter, Houston Mayor John Whitmire called it a “manufactured issue.” Acting Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, who’s also in the middle of a congressional campaign, said his office was evaluating whether or not a lawsuit was justifiable.
Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin, who has helmed the pushback against the crosswalks’ removal, said she did not receive prior notice of the crosswalks’ removal from METRO after being told she would.
In a message to Houston Public Media Sunday evening, Kamin said she first caught wind of the removal when Montrose residents reached out to her and informed her that heavy equipment was being brought to the intersection. At that point, Kamin said she reached out to METRO, which confirmed the crosswalk painting would be removed.
Houston Public Media previously reported on uncertainty from cities on the status of certain landmarks and whether or not they’re in compliance with the Texas Department of Transportation’s new guidance on roadway messaging. The “Black Lives Matter” roadway mural by Yates High School was still in place as of Monday morning.
A spokesperson for the city of Galveston said officials had reached out to TxDOT concerning a sign that reads “Welcome to Galveston The Birthplace of Juneteenth.” Late Friday afternoon, a spokesperson from TxDOT’s state office said they were “not aware at this time of questions” from Galveston.