"A culture war has erupted in the streets of America. Or, more precisely, on the streets, where cities are ripping out their rainbow crosswalks in response to federal direction to remove "political" artwork from roads. The directive came down on July 1 in a memo to state governors from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. Ostensibly focused on safety, the letter advocated for "consistent and recognizable traffic control devices including crosswalk and intersection markings.""
"Just in case the intention was not clear, the first rainbow crosswalk that FDOT chose to remove - by stealth overnight, and without city approval - sat directly in front of the Pulse nightclub, the gay bar where 102 patrons were shot, 49 fatally, in one of the worst hate crimes in our nation's history. Other colorful crossings have been removed across the state, both by FDOT and by Florida municipalities fearing loss of important road-maintenance dollars."
"And it's not just rainbows. Because the state orders have attempted to sound politically neutral, any crosswalk that cannot be found in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices - a notoriously old-school, out-of-date engineering bible - is potentially on the chopping block. In August, Coral Gables pulled out artistic crosswalk murals by the late Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, installed during Art Basel in 2017 at a cost of $180,000."
A federal memo from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy on July 1 instructed states to use "consistent and recognizable traffic control devices including crosswalk and intersection markings," framing the move as safety-focused. An accompanying tweet undercut claims of neutrality. Florida and Texas issued memos enforcing removal and threatened to withhold state transportation funds from municipalities that kept decorative markings. Florida DOT removed a rainbow crosswalk overnight in front of the Pulse nightclub without city approval; other colorful crossings were removed amid funding fears. Houston and Galveston also removed rainbow crosswalks. Non-rainbow artistic crosswalks, including Coral Gables' $180,000 Carlos Cruz-Diez murals installed during Art Basel 2017, were also taken down.
Read at Streetsblog
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