AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin has identified 16 crosswalks and street murals throughout the city that may need to be removed under Gov. Abbott’s order on pavement markings.
Earlier this month, the governor directed TxDOT to “strictly enforce roadway safety guidelines” by ordering the department to ensure cities across the state to “remove political ideologies from our streets,” a move in line with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SAFE ROADS Initiative announced in July.
The directive came under fire from those in the LGBTQ community, who said that the move targeted rainbow Pride crosswalks and that members of their community will suffer negative impacts.
The City of Austin has now listed 16 pieces of street art that may see removal under the directive, and not all of them are Pride crosswalks.
The City memo states that three rainbow crosswalks may be removed, including the Pride crosswalks at Fourth and Colorado Streets, as well as the “Black Artists Matter” mural on East 11th Street.
Other murals also face removal under the governor’s guidelines, including the orange “TEXAS” on Guadalupe Street near UT campus, which was installed by the University, as well as decorated traffic circles in Hyde Park and East Austin, and a street mural on Onion Creek Drive in south Austin.
The City of Austin will submit an exemption request to TxDOT, according to the memo.