{"id":90859,"date":"2025-12-17T02:45:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/90859\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T02:45:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:45:21","slug":"texas-denies-san-antonios-request-to-keep-rainbow-crosswalks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/90859\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas denies San Antonio’s request to keep rainbow crosswalks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SanSan Antonio\u2019s rainbow crosswalk celebrates the LGBTQ+ history of the Main Strip. Credit: Sanford Nowlin<\/p>\n

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has denied the City of San Antonio\u2019s request to keep the Pride Cultural Heritage District\u2019s rainbow crosswalks, located at North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street.<\/p>\n

The City of San Antonio has until Jan. 15 to remove the colorful crosswalks to avoid the state from withholding transportation funds and imposing other potential penalties.<\/p>\n

City officials sought an exemption to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s order that municipalities remove \u201csocial, political and idealogical messages\u201d from their streets, which he issued Oct. 8 . The order called on TxDOT to enforce the removal of any surface markings that \u201cdo not directly support traffic control or safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTexans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways,\u201d Abbott said in a public statement<\/a> at the time. \u201cToday, I directed the Texas Department of Transportation to ensure Texas counties and cities remove any and all political ideologies from our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

This fall, the battle over rainbow crosswalks has been playing out in cities throughout Texas. These include Houston, which removed the markings in its historically LGBTQ+ Montrose neighborhood. Austin\u2019s \u201cBlack Artists Matter\u201d road mural also got caught up in the crosswalk culture war and was ordered for removal.<\/p>\n

In his argument for the sweeping statewide change, Abbott suggested that the crosswalks were a distraction that make Texas roadways less safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo keep Texans moving safely and free from distraction, we must maintain a safe and consistent transportation network across Texas,\u201d Abbott said in his statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was also in line with TxDOT\u2019s\u00a0SAFE ROADS<\/a>\u00a0(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 which emphasizes that intersections and crosswalks should be \u201ckept free from distractions.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, San Antonio city officials supplied data showing its intersection had fewer accidents since the 2018 installation of the rainbow crosswalk, proving it hasn\u2019t been a hazard to pedestrians or motorists.<\/p>\n

The city reviewed crash and injury reports from three years before and three years after the crosswalk\u2019s installation and found just three incidents following its addition. By comparison, a nearby intersection without a rainbow crosswalk had four incidents within that same period.<\/p>\n

Assistant City Manager John Peterek filed the city\u2019s exemption request Nov. 5, arguing the point, according to a KSAT report<\/a>. <\/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 and is safer than another comparable nearby intersection without the rainbow striping,\u201d Peterek wrote. \u201cThis should serve as demonstrated proof of the public safety benefit as requested in the TxDOT letter as criteria to receive written approval for an exception to allow continued use of the crosswalks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a response letter obtained by KSAT, TxDOT Traffic Safety Division Director George Villarreal said the agency \u201cdoes not consider this exemption request acceptable.\u201d The City of Dallas tried for an exemption using the same argument<\/a>, to no avail \u2014 even though its crosswalks were privately funded.<\/p>\n

San Antonio\u2019s crosswalk was also community-funded<\/a>. The City of San Antonio paid for the normal costs incurred for installing a white crosswalk, while nonprofit group Pride San Antonio agreed to pay for the rest of the costs, as well as the crosswalk\u2019s ongoing maintenance.<\/p>\n

Though Peterek endeavored to make the case that the intersection wasn\u2019t a hazard, TxDOT\u2019s Villareal said in the letter obtained by KSAT that San Antonio had until Dec. 10 to either submit an updated exemption request or submit a plan for removal.<\/p>\n

City officials, meanwhile, had already signaled to residents that San Antonio could be forced to comply, despite personal objections and formal requests for exemption from the state edict. In a surprise October 30 public appearance, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, herself a member of the LGBTQ+ community, said the city had to \u201cpick our battles\u201d or \u201cface a world of hurt.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFailure to comply with this directive may result in the withholding or denial of state or federal funds and\/or the suspension of agreements between TxDOT and the city,\u201d Villarreal said in the response letter. <\/p>\n

In a response letter from the city on Dec. 10 obtained by KSAT, Peterek said the city \u201ccontinues to believe that the crosswalks in question are safer than before the installation of the rainbow-colored paint, that the intersection is safer than comparable intersections, and that it demonstrated the importance of the crosswalks to the Pride Cultural Heritage District.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNevertheless, the City will respect TxDOT\u2019s decision,\u201d the letter states.<\/p>\n

Peterek added that the city plans to hire public contractors and identify funds for the removal of the crosswalks by Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

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