JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Once vibrant and painted streets in Jacksonville are now just black roadways after the city started its efforts to repaint the crosswalks to comply with the state’s requirements.
The city had until Thursday to have six noncompliant locations removed. The move came after the Florida Department of Transportation required cities to remove “non-standard surface markings” or risk losing state funding.
As of Sunday, the colorful crosswalks were all wiped out. The remaining two in San Marco and Five Points were repainted.
Madison Mayerlen was disappointed to see the rainbow crosswalk in 5 Points removed.
“It’s really upsetting. I feel this was a safe space for LGBTQ+. It’s a crosswalk. It doesn’t hurt anybody,” Mayerlen said.
In response to the change, people began filling in the now blank spaces with chalk to voice their opposition.
Chalk installations cover the now blacked-out rainbow crosswalk in 5 Points. (WJXT)
“It was a spark of joy, now it’s gone,” Mayerlen said.
The city described the change as a “perplexing reversal,” citing a Bloomberg study that revealed a 50% reduction in crashes due to painted streets.
The six locations in Jacksonville included:
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The intersection of West of Lomax Street and Oak Street (one crosswalk)
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The intersection of Lomax Street between Park Street and Oak Street (one crosswalk)
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The intersection of Lomax Street and Margaret Street (one crosswalk)
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The intersection of Childrens Way and San Marco Boulevard (all pavement art and crosswalk)
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The intersection of 9th Street W and Pearl Street N (all crosswalks)
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The intersection of Milnor Street near Richard L Brown Elementary School (one crosswalk)
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