Removal of San Antonio’s rainbow crosswalk is set to begin Monday. Credit: Sanford Nowlin
Workers will begin removing the rainbow crosswalk in San Antonio’s LGBTQ+ nightlife district after a district judge on Friday denied a temporary restraining order seeking to halt the process, the Express-News reports.
Judge Christine Vasquez-Hortick’s ruling came in response to a suit by Pride San Antonio and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum [TCLF]. The groups argue the city violated the law by not seeking City Council approval to spend $170,000 in tax dollars on the crosswalk’s removal and the subsequent installation of rainbow sidewalks around the same intersection.
The city is removing the crosswalk after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withhold transportation funding from any Texas municipality that placed “markings conveying social, political, or ideological messages” on its roadways.
San Antonio city officials saw the installation of the rainbow sidewalks as a way to celebrate the district’s heritage while complying with Abbott’s mandate.
After the judge’s ruling, Deputy City Attorney Deborah Klein told the Express-News that the city manager’s office will decide whether to move ahead with plans to paint the sidewalk. Crews will begin the crosswalk’s removal on Monday to meet Abbott’s deadline.
“The city is trying its best to balance the interest of the public at large and making sure that we get the funding necessary from the Texas Department of Transportation to do the projects that need to be done for the community at large while still recognizing and respecting the spirit and intent behind the crosswalks,” Klein said.
Attorney Justin P. Nichols, who represents Pride San Antonio and TCLF, told the daily the groups will confer to decide whether they want to appeal Friday’s ruling.
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The suit, filed by Pride San Antonio and a right-wing group that backs anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, demands that plans for the sidewalk be ‘deliberated in a public forum.’
The rainbow sidewalks are set to be installed immediately and also will include the trans flag.
Records show the number of traffic incidents at San Antonio’s rainbow crosswalk have declined since the colorful markings were applied.
Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative…
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