{"id":182770,"date":"2025-08-28T17:19:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T17:19:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/182770\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T17:19:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T17:19:14","slug":"city-to-remove-painted-jacksonville-crosswalks-to-comply-with-new-guidelines-but-says-it-will-be-costly-to-taxpayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/182770\/","title":{"rendered":"City to remove painted Jacksonville crosswalks to comply with new guidelines, but says it \u2018will be costly\u2019 to taxpayers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 The City of Jacksonville said it plans to comply with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2025\/07\/10\/rainbow-crosswalk-in-5-points-area-could-be-in-jeopardy-after-federal-initiative-calls-for-removal-of-political-roads\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2025\/07\/10\/rainbow-crosswalk-in-5-points-area-could-be-in-jeopardy-after-federal-initiative-calls-for-removal-of-political-roads\/\">state\u2019s updated requirement to remove colorful pavement art<\/a> from streets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The city\u2019s plans come after the Florida Department of Transportation required that cities remove \u201cnon-standard surface markings,\u201d which the department said might distract drivers. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The requirement from FDOT came after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked state governors to participate in the \u201cSAFE ROADS\u201d initiative, which stands for \u201cSafe Arterials for Everyone through Reliable Operations and Distraction-Reducing Strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The city described the change as a \u201cperplexing reversal,\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/assets.bbhub.io\/dotorg\/sites\/43\/2022\/04\/Asphalt-Art-Safety-Study.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/assets.bbhub.io\/dotorg\/sites\/43\/2022\/04\/Asphalt-Art-Safety-Study.pdf\"> citing a Bloomberg study that revealed a 50% reduction in crashes<\/a> due to painted streets. However, it stated that it would follow suit with the updated requirements, even though the change would take a toll on taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>Rainbow crosswalk makes debut in lively 5 Points (Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWhile the perplexing reversal will be costly to our taxpayers, we will be complying with the state\u2019s request to remove these paintings and working with local artists to recreate them on a different canvas that is on private property and not on a roadway,\u201d a statement from the city read.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><b>RELATED: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/national\/2025\/08\/27\/florida-cities-race-to-save-rainbow-crosswalks-as-the-states-deadlines-for-removal-loom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/national\/2025\/08\/27\/florida-cities-race-to-save-rainbow-crosswalks-as-the-states-deadlines-for-removal-loom\/\"><b>Florida cities race to save rainbow crosswalks as the state\u2019s deadlines for removal loom<\/b><\/a><b> <\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The Florida Department of Transportation found six noncompliant locations in Jacksonville:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>The intersection of West of Lomax Street and Oak Street (one crosswalk) <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>The intersection of Lomax Street between Park Street and Oak Street (one crosswalk) <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>The intersection of Lomax Street and Margaret Street (one crosswalk) <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>The intersection of Childrens Way and San Marco Boulevard (all pavement art and crosswalk) <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>The intersection of 9th Street W and Pearl Street N (all crosswalks)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>The intersection of Milnor Street near Richard L Brown Elementary School (one crosswalk) <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">According to the city, the art at the intersection of Childrens Way and San Marco Boulevard cost more than $85,000 to paint.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">There is no estimate for the cost of repainting the crosswalks, but the city said it has moved forward to hire contractors to remove the paintings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Read the city\u2019s full statement below:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 bqJyUE iQviKm block-quote\">\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 ewwUYq\">A 2022 Bloomberg study found that decorated crosswalks actually made streets safer, showing a 50% drop in pedestrian crashes and big decreases in accidents overall. In fact, these traffic calming measures were once encouraged by the State of Florida.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 ewwUYq\">While the perplexing reversal will be costly to our taxpayers, we will be complying with the state\u2019s request to remove these paintings and working with local artists to recreate them on a different canvas that is on private property and not on a roadway. In Jacksonville, we welcome everyone and believe that public art beautifies the city while driving economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 ewwUYq\">Public Works will hire contractors to remove the road paintings. We do not know the costs or have a schedule yet. <\/p>\n<p>City of Jacksonville<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">If the city fails to comply, FDOT said it would withhold state funds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">All locations must be removed by Thursday, Sept. 4.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The City of Jacksonville said it plans to comply with the state\u2019s updated requirement to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":182771,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,8314,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-182770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-duval-county","10":"tag-fl","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-jacksonville","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115107539680879658","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}