The Texas Department of Transportation has directed the city of San Antonio to remove its rainbow crosswalks by January 15.
This order follows Governor Greg Abbott’s directive that municipalities eliminate “social, political, and ideological messages” from public streets. In a statement, Abbott asserted: “Texans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways.” He further stated he had instructed the Department of Transportation to ensure all counties and cities remove any and all political ideologies from streets.
Maria Salazar, chair of San Antonio’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee, characterized Abbott’s order as “clearly aimed at the LGBTQ+ community,” adding it is “based out of homophobia. It’s based out of fear. It’s based on erasing a whole community.”
Krista Cover, an attorney with the City of San Antonio, confirmed that the city will continue to recognize and support its LGBTQ+ community by installing rainbow-colored sidewalk treatments one block north and one block south of the intersection.
The city had previously filed an exemption request on November 5, arguing that intersections with the rainbow crosswalks — located on North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street within San Antonio’s Pride Cultural Heritage District — experienced fewer accidents since their installation in 2018. However, Traffic Safety Division Director George Villarreal rejected this exemption, stating the agency “does not consider this exemption request acceptable” and requiring the city to submit an updated request addressing compliance by December 10 or develop a removal plan.
Villarreal warned that failure to comply could result in the withholding of state or federal funds and/or suspension of agreements between TxDOT and the city. In response, Assistant City Manager John Peterek affirmed that the city “continues to believe that the crosswalks in question are safer than before the installation of the rainbow-colored paint, that the intersection is safer than comparable intersections, and that [the crosswalks] demonstrated the importance of the Pride Cultural Heritage District.” Peterek added that “the city will respect TxDOT’s decision.”
