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San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speaks at the end of a rally where community members and several LGBTQ+ and allied organizations gathered to fight for the rainbow crosswalk to stay in the city\u2019s Pride Cultural Heritage District on Oct. 30, 2025. Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n
Sign up for The Brief<\/a>, The Texas Tribune\u2019s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.<\/p>\n Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy <\/a> , and give us feedback <\/a> . <\/p>\n At the intersection of North Main Avenue and West Evergreen Street just north of downtown San Antonio, semi-faded rainbows connect each street corner in place of standard, white crosswalks.<\/p>\n The intersection is located at the center of the city\u2019s \u201cgay strip,\u201d a cluster of blocks long known as a home to San Antonio\u2019s LGBTQ+ residents. City officials designated the area as the \u201cPride Cultural Heritage District\u201d in June, seven years after the rainbow crosswalk was laid down.<\/p>\n But the colors that pave the four-way intersection may soon be erased, as San Antonio and other Texas cities face a Friday deadline to decide whether to remove their queer-themed crosswalks or lose millions in state funding. The crackdown came at the behest of Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a>, who directed the Texas Department of Transportation in early October to make sure cities and counties remove roadway art displays that \u201cadvance political agendas\u201d and \u201cideologies,\u201d in the name of enhancing safety by limiting distractions.<\/p>\n Abbott\u2019s office declined to answer questions about the order, directing the Tribune to the governor\u2019s Oct. 8 press release<\/a> announcing the clampdown. <\/p>\n That same day, TxDOT sent a letter<\/a> to local transportation officials mandating the removal of \u201cnon-standard\u201d road markings within 30 days. State standards require crosswalks to be composed solely of white lines that meet certain specifications. <\/p>\n Advocates and local officials have said the order is not about safety, but is rather a political move designed to strip away emblems commemorating areas with significant LGBTQ+ community or history. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing illegal about this crosswalk,\u201d Pride San Antonio executive James Poindexter said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing political about it. The politics is in [Abbott\u2019s] brain only.\u201d<\/p>\n Poindexter and others in San Antonio are adamant they can win a legal battle against Abbott and come away with both the crosswalks and their funding \u2014 even as other cities have complied with the removal order, citing the risk of losing millions of transportation dollars. Last week, members of the community gathered to protest the San Antonio crosswalk\u2019s potential removal while celebrating the installation of a new plaque at the intersection that honors the area\u2019s\u2019s new designation as a heritage district.<\/p>\n James Poindexter, Pride San Antonio Board Member, at the rainbow crosswalk in the city\u2019s Pride Cultural Heritage District on Thursday. Poindexter helped organize the event where several community members, city officials, and leaders of LGBTQ+ and ally organizations rallied and signed a resolution urging the city to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s order to remove rainbow crosswalks throughout Texas. Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n After the state directive came down, Pride San Antonio officials immediately got in touch with the city manager and other city officials to make the case for fighting back, Poindexter said.<\/p>\n San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, however, appears reluctant to push back against the order, saying in a statement to the Tribune that she believes the best way to honor the LGBTQ+ community is to find ways beyond the crosswalk to honor their role in the city\u2019s story.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must be smart, realistic and effective, not just idealistic,\u201d Jones, the city\u2019s first openly gay mayor, said in her statement. \u201cMy pride isn\u2019t tied to a crosswalk; it\u2019s in the people and progress of San Antonio.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones did not definitively state whether the city would remove the crosswalk art, but said she doubted an exception would be granted by the state. She also appeared at last week\u2019s protest and told attendees she didn\u2019t want to invite \u201cunneeded retribution.\u201d<\/p>\n Poindexter said Jones\u2019 response and that of other cities\u2019 leaders validates what he characterized as overreach by state and federal officials into local decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is why bullies become powerful \u2014 because nobody stands up to them,\u201d Poindexter said. \u201cThis is why this mentality has ripped across our nation, from the federal level down to the state level.\u201d <\/p>\n The state\u2019s order to remove the crosswalks follows a similar request federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made in July as part of a new initiative designed to decrease accidents on non-freeway roads. Duffy decried political symbols on public roadways in a press release announcing the initiative, though in a separate letter<\/a> calling for states to participate, he did not mention political messaging, instead broadly directing officials to enforce proper roadway markings.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder Secretary Duffy\u2019s leadership the department is getting back to basics and enforcing the rules already on the books \u2014 roads are for safety not political messages or artwork,\u201d a Federal Highway Administration spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n Like San Antonio, several of Texas\u2019 largest cities have rainbow crosswalks at the heart of neighborhoods historically nurturing of the state\u2019s LGBTQ+ population. The rainbows are found in the \u201cgayborhood\u201d of Montrose in Houston and in Dallas\u2019 Oak Lawn, where the Texas Historical Commission has recognized<\/a> the area\u2019s LGBTQ+ history as a cultural contribution to the state. <\/p>\n Most of the crosswalk installations have been partially or wholly funded by private interests or donations rather than city funds. Poindexter said community organizers paid for roughly two-thirds of the installation costs in San Antonio, and have volunteered and paid for regular cleanings and upkeep.<\/p>\n A married couple, Gija Jones, right, and Ceeg Jones, left,\u00a0 dance on the rainbow cross walk on Thursday. The Joneses were present when the rainbow crosswalk was first installed in San Antonio. \u201cWe want to hopefully see it stay, but we may be saying goodbye. We may have some rainbows on the buildings instead of the street,\u201d said Ceeg Jones. \u201cWe are here to support the community either way.\u201d Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n In the October letter to local transportation officials, TxDOT\u2019s executive director, Marc Williams, noted that cities and counties could request exceptions \u201cbased on a demonstrated public safety benefit or compelling justification.\u201d TxDOT and Abbott\u2019s office did not respond to questions about what would constitute an exception.<\/p>\n Cities have taken varied steps to respond: Houston almost immediately removed its crosswalk in Montrose days after TxDOT threatened its funding. The city had just repaved the rainbows onto the street days<\/a> earlier. <\/p>\n Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said the city would comply and remove its rainbow crosswalk at 4th and Colorado streets to avoid jeopardizing funding. The city\u2019s director of public works also sent a letter<\/a> to city officials last week listing several other intersections \u2014 most of which were not rainbow crosswalks \u2014 that city staff would look at to determine whether they complied with the state directive.<\/p>\n The fate of the crosswalk at Cedar Springs and Throckmorton Street in Dallas, the centerpiece of the historic \u201cCrossroads\u201d in Oak Lawn, is still unclear. The site of Texas\u2019 first pride parade is marked by both the crosswalk and an official Texas Historical Commission plaque. <\/p>\n A spokesperson for the city of Dallas said city council members would receive updates on any \u201cnecessary\u201d steps taken in response to TxDOT\u2019s letter. Advocates in Dallas are encouraging city officials to apply for an exception, but acknowledged they face slim chances of success.<\/p>\n \u201cDo we want to save the crosswalks? Absolutely. Do we know that that\u2019s an uphill battle in this state with this governor? Absolutely, but it\u2019s a bigger issue than that,\u201d Dallas Way director Steve Atkinson said.<\/p>\n San Antonio officials plan to apply for an exception for the crosswalk at North Main and West Evergreen. First Assistant City Attorney Elizabeth Provencio said during a recent meeting of the city\u2019s \u200b\u200bLGBTQ+ advisory board that the city has data proving there have been fewer accidents at the intersection since the crosswalk was painted. <\/p>\n Several members of the advisory board said they are prepared to start a larger fight to preserve the crosswalk after the expected failure of the exception request.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are being attacked at every front: from how we express ourselves, from how we seek health care and how we work in the workplace,\u201d said Maria Salazar, chair of the San Antonio LGBTQ+ advisory board, during its Oct. 20 meeting.<\/p>\n Andres Lopez, precinct chair of Bexar County Democratic Party, signs a resolution to fight the removal of the rainbow crosswall in San Antonio\u2019s Pride Cultural Heritage District. Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n San Antonio is counting on $2.3 million in state and federal transportation grants for the 2026 fiscal year, according to the annual budget<\/a> approved by City Council last month.<\/p>\n Cities without rainbow crosswalks have also been swept into removing community artwork from their intersections. In Kerrville, city officials are planning to remove three blue and teal pieces of crosswalk art representing the Guadalupe River to comply with the order, according to a city spokesperson. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile it\u2019s unfortunate, we will have a letter to TxDOT on or before mid-November about a plan to have any crosswalk art removed,\u201d Kerrville Assistant City Manager Michael Hornes said in a statement. \u201cI don\u2019t see how our color scheme would fit any of the exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n San Marcos also said in a statement that it would file exception requests for some of its street art, none of which are rainbow crosswalks. <\/p>\n San Antonio officials indicated during last month\u2019s LGBTQ+ advisory board meeting they would file their exception request on Friday.<\/p>\n Whether or not the city\u2019s colorful crosswalk remains, Jones said San Antonio officials are working on a plan to \u201creimagine\u201d the city\u2019s pride cultural heritage district to better celebrate its queer community. Those changes would be decided after the city issues a report on the district and solicits feedback from various elected officials in the area.<\/p>\n Disclosure: Texas Historical Commission has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speaks at the end of a rally where community members and several…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[392,1183,287,82,84,83,1564,9237,293,840,6588],"class_list":{"0":"post-33410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-greg-abbott","9":"tag-lgbtq","10":"tag-politics","11":"tag-san-antonio","12":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","13":"tag-san-antonio-news","14":"tag-state-government","15":"tag-texas-department-of-transportation","16":"tag-texas-legislature","17":"tag-transportation","18":"tag-well-c-homepage"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33410","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=33410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20251030-Remember-the-Rainbow-SW-07.jpg\")
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