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Governor Greg Abbott is directing the Texas Department of Transportation to withhold funding from cities that do not remove street markings conveying social, political, or ideological messaging. That could affect San Antonio's rainbow crosswalk which was installed in 2018.
The directive from Abbott doesn't mention rainbow crosswalks but said Texans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely and not used to advance political agendas on Texas roadways.
"Today, I directed the Texas Department of Transportation to ensure Texas counties and cities remove any and all political ideologies from our streets. To keep Texans moving safely and free from distraction, we must maintain a safe and consistent transportation network across Texas," he said. "Any city that refuses to comply with the federal road standards will face consequences including the withholding or denial of state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT."
It falls in line with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's nationwide request in July to remove what he says are distractions from roadways. In a July social media post, Duffy said "Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks."
Florida was the first state to start the controversial removal of rainbow crosswalks facing community opposition.
San Antonio's rainbow crosswalk was installed on a city managed street at N. Main Avenue and Evergreen which is not overseen by TxDOT. City records show it was funded with $19,000 in community donations from Pride San Antonio. The city paid $12,000 which it listed as the cost of a typical crosswalk installation.
District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur, whose district contains the roadways with the crosswalk said the state likely doesn't have the authority to order the crosswalk be removed.
"They don't have the ability to come paint over it, as was done in Florida," she said. "But that does not mean that they can't come and say, 'Oh, you guys have not rectified or fixed the situation, so we're going to not address the issues on 1604 that we're working on right now.' Like we have no idea how severe these threats are, and it's similar to what we're seeing at the national level."
She added the city's LGBTQ+ Advisory Board is working on a resolution for the council to show support for the crosswalk after the ones in Florida were removed.
James Poindexter, a board member of Pride San Antonio and director of the annual pride parade, says removing the crosswalks is an effort to erase the LGBTQ+ community.
"We've just fought to get that whole neighborhood designated as a pride cultural heritage district of which the crosswalk is the foothold and anchor of all that."
In June, the City of San Antonio designated parts of N. Main Avenue and the Tobin Hill neighborhood as a Pride Cultural Historic District as it is the site of many of LGBTQ+ establishments.
Texas has several other pride-themed crosswalks in Houston, Dallas and Austin.
TPR has reached out to the City of San Antonio and its public works department for comment.
"I just hope folks see that our local elected officials really care and love this community, and we are going to do whatever we can to make sure they still feel included and loved and a part of our city," Kaur said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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