{"id":234034,"date":"2026-04-03T21:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/234034\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T21:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T21:35:11","slug":"smu-crosswalk-in-university-park-still-under-review-txdot-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/234034\/","title":{"rendered":"SMU crosswalk in University Park still under review, TxDOT says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas regulators haven\u2019t signed off on whether University Park can keep its SMU-themed crosswalk amid a state ban on decorative street markings<\/a>, according to a Texas Department of Transportation spokesperson.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“After review of the TxDOT documents, we believe all intersections within the City are in compliance with the Governor\u2019s order,” University Park officials told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) in a statement last week.<\/a> “This determination was shared with TxDOT, and no further action was requested.\u201d<\/p>\n

But on Thursday, TxDOT spokesperson Adam Hammons said the department is \u201cstill reviewing the intersection to ensure compliance with the SAFE ROADS Initiative<\/a>,\u201d referring to the Trump administration\u2019s national safety initiative aimed at removing artwork and political messaging from roads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TxDOT has said that any pavement markings, such as \u201cdecorative crosswalks, murals or markings conveying artwork or other messages\u201d are prohibited \u201cunless they serve a direct traffic control or safety function,\u201d according to an October letter sent to city and county officials<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

University Park did not respond to multiple requests for comment over email and phone. SMU spokespeople declined to comment, deferring to University Park officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

State officials have said the removal of \u201cnon-standard surface markings\u201d will ensure roadway safety and remove distractions. Advocates argue the artwork represents neighborhood pride, calling rainbow and Black Lives Matter crosswalks public displays of solidarity.<\/p>\n

The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.<\/p>\n

The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas regulators haven\u2019t signed off on whether University Park can keep its SMU-themed crosswalk amid a state ban…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[732,27,29,28,89512,88573,89396,89204,90464,89398,90463,90465,89304],"class_list":{"0":"post-234034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-article","9":"tag-texas","10":"tag-texas-headlines","11":"tag-texas-news","12":"tag-tp-texas","13":"tag-tp-traffic","14":"tag-tp-ed-lab-college-career","15":"tag-tp-education-lab","16":"tag-tp-greg-abbott","17":"tag-tp-higher-education","18":"tag-tp-texas-politics","19":"tag-tp-txdot","20":"tag-tp-university-park"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234034","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=234034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}