"U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered states to eliminate rainbow crosswalks and other "distractions" in July in a supposed effort to prevent traffic fatalities. He did not provide evidence linking decorated crosswalks to traffic fatalities. Instead, he harped on his distaste for the artwork itself, saying, "Roads are for safety, not political messages." Florida complied with the order in August by quietly painting over a memorial for the Pulse shooting victims in Orlando."
"The Florida Department of Transportation has since ordered cities to remove rainbow crosswalks, as well as more than 400 other roadway decorations. The Texas Department of Transportation followed suit, sending a memo to local governments in October directing cities to follow Duffy's orders by keeping crosswalks "free from distractions." Conservatives accuse rainbow crosswalks of being a distraction, but is safety at the core of the issue?"
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy ordered states to remove rainbow crosswalks and other decorated crosswalks in July, citing traffic safety without providing evidence linking such artwork to fatalities. Duffy criticized the artwork as a political message. Florida painted over a Pulse shooting memorial crosswalk in August, and Governor Ron DeSantis defended the action as noncompliant with state and federal standards. Florida DOT directed cities to remove rainbow crosswalks and over 400 other roadway decorations. Texas DOT issued a memo in October instructing local governments to keep crosswalks free from distractions. The first permanent rainbow crosswalk appeared in West Hollywood in 2012, and dozens of U.S. cities now have them.
Read at Advocate.com
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