{"id":37558,"date":"2025-11-06T04:16:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T04:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/37558\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T04:16:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T04:16:07","slug":"city-of-san-antonio-files-exemption-request-for-rainbow-crosswalks-after-abbotts-order-for-removal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/37558\/","title":{"rendered":"City of San Antonio files exemption request for rainbow crosswalks after Abbott\u2019s order for removal"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2013 The City of San Antonio filed an exemption request for the pride district\u2019s rainbow crosswalks after Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s order<\/a> to remove \u201cany and all political ideologies\u201d from Texas streets.<\/p>\n

The crosswalks, located at the intersection of North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street within the Pride Cultural Heritage District<\/a>, have been a point of contention<\/a> since the order.<\/p>\n

In an Oct. 8 news release from Abbott\u2019s office, the governor called on the Texas Department of Transportation to enforce the removal of non-standard surface markings, signage and signals that \u201cdo not directly support traffic control or safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to TxDOT, the SAFE ROADS<\/a> (Safe Arterials for Everyone through Reliable Operations and Distraction-Reducing Strategies) initiative \u2014 launched by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on July 1 \u2014 emphasizes that intersections and crosswalks should be \u201ckept free from distractions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abbott warned that cities who did not comply with the order \u201cwill face consequences including the withholding or denial of state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT.\u201d<\/p>\n

>> Fight over the rainbow crosswalk: City leaders, community react to Gov. Abbott\u2019s request to remove it<\/a><\/p>\n

At an Oct. 30 event intended to rally support for the crosswalks, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones made a surprise appearance, reiterating that the city has to \u201cpick our battles\u201d<\/a> or it could face a \u201cworld of hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said in her remarks that the city still intended to file the request for exemption, but advocates said that\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n

KSAT obtained a copy of the city\u2019s exemption request, which was filed on Wednesday by Assistant City Manager John Peterek.<\/p>\n

In the letter, which was directed to TxDOT officials, Peterek states that the department informed the city that the rainbow crosswalks were the \u201csole location\u201d within city limits in violation of the new directive.<\/p>\n

Peterek said in the letter that the city \u201cwould appreciate guidance concerning the statutory or regulatory authority TxDOT is relying on to support its new directive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City does not believe the rainbow-colored crosswalks are prohibited by the current Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways,\u201d the letter says.<\/p>\n

The city cites a \u201cdemonstrable public safety benefit\u201d and \u201coverwhelming community benefit and support\u201d as reasons for exemption.<\/p>\n

According to safety data, pedestrian injuries are less frequent at the intersection since the installation of the rainbow crosswalks and are less frequent than a nearby intersection in comparison, the letter states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe available safety data shows the intersection at N. Main Ave. and E. Evergreen St. is safer now than it was prior to the installation of the rainbow striping,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n

The letter also notes the crosswalks as a \u201ccenterpiece\u201d of the pride district.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rainbow-colored crosswalks, and the neighborhood and community they represent, are deeply ingrained into the culture of San Antonio, and they continue to serve as a symbol of inclusiveness and safety,\u201d the letter says.<\/p>\n

Related coverage on KSAT.com<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 The City of San Antonio filed an exemption request for the pride district\u2019s rainbow crosswalks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2112,392,1183,6825,3332,82,84,83,271],"class_list":["post-37558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-gina-ortiz-jones","tag-greg-abbott","tag-lgbtq","tag-pride","tag-rainbow-crosswalk","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-txdot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37558","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=37558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}