Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
The rainbow crosswalks at Westheimer and Taft in Montrose were removed on Oct. 20, 2025.
Houston-area elected officials are criticizing the removal of Montrose’s rainbow crosswalks — and the city’s handling of the removal process — after transit officials agreed to take out the decorative crosswalks hours after a directive by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Meanwhile, residents of Montrose are still etching their own messages into the intersection of Westheimer Road and Taft Street, where the rainbow crosswalks were removed early Monday morning. By Tuesday morning, rainbow chalk art appeared on the sidewalks of the intersection, with messages like “love is love” and “be gay/do crime.”
Another rainbow crosswalk, in recognition of the LGBTQ+ community, has been chalked in the Heights neighborhood. Anna Eastman, a former Houston ISD trustee and state representative who lives in the Heights, used chalk to draw her own rainbow crosswalks at the intersection of Harvard and 10th streets. She’s documented her crosswalks on an Instagram account called “713righteousrainbows.”
Elected officials criticize the removal
Houston and Harris County politicians have largely condemned the removal of the rainbow crosswalks as a “manufactured” issue, as Mayor John Whitmire labeled it.
Abbie Kamin, the Houston City Council member who represents the area of Montrose where the rainbow crosswalks were installed in 2017 as a memorial for 21-year-old Alex Hill, has helmed the effort to keep the crosswalks and has publicly called for more pathways to keeping the rainbows and other LGBTQ+ landmarks.
Rob Salinas/Houston Public Media
After rainbow crosswalks were removed from a Montrose intersection, residents adorned the adjacent sidewalks with rainbows and other messages and symbols.
Harris County commissioners, who don’t have jurisdiction over the road because it’s under city control, have criticized the removal — and the city’s role in it.
“I, for one, don’t understand why METRO was so quick to remove the crosswalk when the state gave them 30 days before we had to take action,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said in a statement. “METRO could have requested an exemption from the state’s policy or taken legal action before removing art and a symbol that was so important to our community. METRO reports to a board of directors, but the board did not have input on this. The community deserves to know who made the final decision to remove the crosswalk, why the decision was not put up for a board vote and what other options we could have pursued instead of instant removal.”
In an interview with Houston Public Media, Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones called the removal “incredibly disappointing.”
“It is incredibly disappointing that the state and federal government are focused on painting over a crosswalk instead of deeply addressing real issues,” Briones said. “But the bottom line is they can erase paint on a crosswalk, but they’re never going to erase pride of Houstonians, of Harris County residents, of our LGBTQIA+ community.”
County Commissioner Rodney Ellis called the removal “wrong. The state has forced the removal of a symbol meant to honor a life lost and affirm the dignity of our LGBTQ+ community.”
Several leaders have said the bright colors on the rainbow crosswalks enhances their safety, rather than hinders it. Kamin told Houston Public Media that traffic incidents have decreased along Westheimer and Taft, though she did not have the data indicating that immediately available.
In a statement, state Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, said, “Vibrant crosswalks are traffic safety measures. Ripping them out continues a trend of anti-intellectualism from a transportation viewpoint at the state level. The state is removing safety infrastructure away from our streets while traffic related deaths continue to increase year by year. The removal of the Montrose rainbow crosswalks is disappointing, completely unnecessary, and a shameful waste of taxpayer money.”
Houston-area advocates
Meanwhile, several grassroots groups and activists have taken it upon themselves to advocate for the LGBTQ community — including Eastman, who chalked in her own rainbow crosswalks in the Heights.
Courtesy of Anna Eastman
Anna Eastman, a resident of Houston’s Heights neighborhood, etches her own rainbow crosswalk on Oct. 13, 2025.
“They have the ability to tear up a freaking intersection and repave it overnight because there’s a rainbow on it? I just couldn’t stand it,” Eastman said in an interview. “And I was like, ‘What kind of thing can I do that makes me feel happy?’ And I think it’s like a silly frivolous little gift to my block, and maybe our city.”
Eastman, whose daughter is transgender, began drawing the crosswalk in the Heights on Oct. 13, completing one leg of the intersection.
In a statement, Joseph Panzarella, an activist who was involved in protests at the rainbow crosswalks, criticized the city’s role in removing them. City officials help determine the board makeup of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), the agency that initially removed the crosswalks as part of a repaving project, then reinstated them before ultimately removing them at the direction of Abbott.
“The mayor will not fight for our rights, but he will arrest the people who fight for theirs,” Panzarella said. “Houston’s leadership carried out the governor’s agenda instead of defending the community that built this neighborhood. That choice will define this administration’s legacy.”
The removal is not without its local supporters. In a news release Monday, Log Cabin Republicans of Houston’s president said such a removal ensures no social groups receive preferential treatment from the city government.
“We believe community initiatives should prioritize safety and fairness for everyone,” said Danny Stevens, president of LCR Houston. “Removing or modifying the Pride crosswalks is not about erasing anyone’s identity — it’s about ensuring public projects are inclusive, safe, and consistent in how taxpayer resources are used. That means no special treatment for any group, including our own.”