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The rainbow crosswalks that run across Cedar Springs Road in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas may soon be returned to black and white.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a directive to the Texas Department of Transportation on Wednesday, ordering the agency to “ensure counties and cities are in compliance with roadway safety.”
Over the summer, the federal Department of Transportation announced stricter enforcement of a 2013 rule of the Federal Highway Administration that said any art in crosswalks – apart from certain patterns in earth tones – degraded pedestrian safety.
Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy told governors across the country that federal road funding would be at risk if states, counties and cities were not in compliance.
Abbott’s directive did not specifically mention the rainbow design, but his statement said counties and cities must remove “any and all political ideologies from our streets.” The rainbow is a symbol of LGBTQ pride, and Oak Lawn has historically been the center of Dallas’ gay community.
A total of nine rainbow crosswalks run across or along Cedar Springs Road from Reagan Street to Douglas Avenue.
The deadline for removing the crosswalks is not yet clear. It is also unclear whether any other crosswalks in North Texas will be impacted, regardless of design.
Crosswalk controversy in Florida
A similar directive to remove crosswalk art in Florida over the summer resulted in controversy, as the state’s department of transportation painted over a rainbow crosswalk outside of Pulse, an LGBTQ+ friendly nightclub in Orlando that was the site of a 2016 massacre that left 49 people dead.
The crosswalk was meant as a tribute to the victims.
Colorful crosswalks in other parts of Florida, including Miami Beach and Key West, were also painted over.