{"id":190120,"date":"2025-08-31T21:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T21:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190120\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T21:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T21:54:09","slug":"city-wipes-out-all-colorful-art-on-jacksonville-crosswalks-before-approaching-deadline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190120\/","title":{"rendered":"City wipes out all colorful art on Jacksonville crosswalks before approaching deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 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\u2019s requirements<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The city had until Thursday to have six noncompliant locations removed. The move came after the Florida Department of Transportation required cities to remove \u201cnon-standard surface markings\u201d or risk losing state funding.<\/p>\n

As of Sunday, the colorful crosswalks were all wiped out. The remaining two in San Marco and Five Points were repainted.<\/p>\n

Madison Mayerlen was disappointed to see the rainbow crosswalk in 5 Points removed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really upsetting. I feel this was a safe space for LGBTQ+. It\u2019s a crosswalk. It doesn\u2019t hurt anybody,\u201d Mayerlen said.<\/p>\n

In response to the change, people began filling in the now blank spaces with chalk to voice their opposition.<\/p>\n

Chalk installations cover the now blacked-out rainbow crosswalk in 5 Points. (WJXT)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a spark of joy, now it\u2019s gone,\u201d Mayerlen said.<\/p>\n

The city described the change as a \u201cperplexing reversal,\u201d citing a Bloomberg study that revealed a 50% reduction in crashes<\/a> due to painted streets.<\/p>\n

The six locations in Jacksonville included:<\/p>\n