{"id":219740,"date":"2026-03-25T13:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219740\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T13:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:15:09","slug":"dallas-begins-removal-of-30-rainbow-colored-crosswalks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219740\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas begins removal of 30 rainbow-colored crosswalks"},"content":{"rendered":"

By CP Staff<\/a>Wednesday, March 25, 2026\"CrewsCrews remove rainbow crosswalks along Cedar Springs in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. | Image courtesy North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce<\/p>\n

Crews began removing rainbow-painted crosswalks in Dallas on Monday as part of a statewide mandate to eliminate decorative pavement markings deemed in violation of traffic safety standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As explained in a March 20 memorandum<\/a> from the City of Dallas to the mayor and City Council, the removal of the 30 crosswalks located in Oak Lawn and other parts of the city follows a notification<\/a> from the Texas Department of Transportation last October that the decorative markings designed to show support for the LGBT community do not comply with the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. City officials requested an exception, which was denied on Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

The city then submitted a compliance plan on Jan. 30 as part of a commitment to standardize the crosswalks within 90 days while exploring alternative ways to recognize neighborhood identity through public art. The city expects to complete the removal at all 30 crosswalks by the end of April.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an official statement<\/a> released March 23, the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce Foundation described the removal as part of a broader political climate targeting the community\u2019s visibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City of Dallas\u2019 removal of the rainbow crosswalks along Cedar Springs is not occurring in isolation \u2014 it reflects a broader political and regulatory climate that is increasingly targeting public expressions of support for the [LGBT-identified] community across our state,\u201d the statement read. \u201cRecent federal guidance and state-level directives have created a framework in which communities are being forced to choose between representation and resources \u2014 between visibility and compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n

While located on public property, the crosswalks were privately funded. In December 2019, the foundation raised and contributed more than $128,000 for 10 crosswalks along Cedar Springs Road, with support from businesses, corporate partners, community organizations and individuals. The foundation and the Cedar Springs Merchants Association later covered ongoing repairs and re-installations despite material challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be clear \u2014 these crosswalks are being removed at a time when [LGBT] visibility is being challenged across Texas,\u201d said Tony Vedda, president of the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce Foundation. \u201cWhile the city may point to resurfacing as the immediate cause, the broader reality is that state and federal pressures have made it increasingly difficult for cities to support expressions of inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur district thrives because it is known as a place where people belong. That does not change because paint is removed from a street,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

An executive order from Texas\u2019 Republican Gov. Greg Abbott directed<\/a> TxDOT to take steps to ensure Texas counties and cities \u201cremove any and all political ideologies from our streets,\u201d including pro-LGBT rainbow-style crosswalks that have surfaced in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and other cities in the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

Abbott\u2019s order warned that any city that refuses to comply with federal road standards could see state and federal road funding withheld, along with the potential \u201csuspension of agreements with TxDOT.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the order, city officials in January allowed<\/a> the historic and pro-LGBT Oak Lawn United Methodist Church to retain its rainbow-painted front steps, which were painted in defiance of Abbott\u2019s order, for the next three years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By CP StaffWednesday, March 25, 2026Crews remove rainbow crosswalks along Cedar Springs in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103,392,5303,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-219740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news","11":"tag-greg-abbott","12":"tag-lgbt","13":"tag-texas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}