SAN ANTONIO – While the Pride Cultural Heritage District’s iconic rainbow crosswalks are set to be replaced with standard markings, community leaders are determined the colors remain.
San Antonio will install rainbow-colored sidewalk treatments on North Main Avenue in order to “recognize and support the LGBTQ+ community,” according to a city spokesperson.
The new, rainbow sidewalks will be installed one block north and one block south of Main’s intersection with Evergreen Street, where the crosswalks are set to be removed.
City council member Sukh Kaur (D1), who represents the district and identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community, said she plans to push for the transgender flag to be incorporated into the sidewalk design.
“Hopefully, the community views it as we’re not just completely giving up, right?” Kaur said. “Not just completely taking off the crosswalk without showing any kind of pride in that area.”
Kaur also said that the city will be looking at more ways to grow its support for the community.
“Whether that looks like more murals, more artwork, other artifacts to show off the community,” Kaur said, “we want to do that.”
State and federal pressure to remove rainbow crosswalks has been ramping up for months.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced a “SAFE ROADS” initiative in July that included a push to reduce “distractions,” saying “roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork.”
Just over three months after Duffy’s letter to all 50 governors, Gov. Greg Abbott issued an Oct. 8 directive for cities and counties to “remove any and all political ideologies” from Texas streets, under the threat of losing state and federal road funding.
San Antonio applied for an exception for its rainbow crosswalks, but it appears to have failed.
While the city said the state “denied” its request for an exception, the Texas Department of Transportation confirmed to KSAT it believes the city retracted its own application.
In a Nov. 25 letter, TxDOT Traffic Safety Division Director George Villarreal said the city’s application was not considered “acceptable” since it didn’t include a traffic engineer’s confirmation that the crosswalks complied with state standards, Duffy’s initiative, or Gov. Abbot’s directive.
“It would be difficult to have a city engineer (confirmation),” Assistant City Attorney Krista Cover said at an LGBTQ+ Advisory Board meeting Tuesday, “and we did attempt to have someone provide that affidavit.”
Though the city was given until Dec. 10 to submit a request with that documentation, the same TxDOT letter said painted rainbow colors “fall outside the intent of” federal standards.
Assistant City Manager John Peterek did not directly address TxDOT’s request for the extra documentation in his Dec. 10 response. Instead, he relayed the city’s plans to replace the crosswalks by Jan. 15.
“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 nearby intersections, and that it demonstrated the importances of the crosswalks to the Pride Cultural Heritage District,” Peterek said. “Nevertheless, the City will respect TxDOT’s decision.”
A TxDOT spokesman said Wednesday the agency is “still reviewing exception requests throughout the state and has not made any determinations.”
James Poindexter, the secretary and parade director for Pride San Antonio, told KSAT the sidewalks proposal was “great,” but wishes the city fought harder to keep the crosswalks.
“We’re all for enhancements to the neighborhood,” Poindexter said. “That’s what the dream was all along. But, you know, I just — I think that this is a time for this city to show what they have and to really stand up and fight for this."
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ stance on avoiding a larger fight with the state has frustrated some in the LGBTQ+ community.
Jones got a chilly reception at a rally in support of the crosswalks in October, though she tried to reassure the crowd she was with them.
“We know this isn’t actually about public safety,” a spokesperson for Jones said Wednesday, “which is why we have to be strategic.”
Jones said she had been working with the San Antonio LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, and the broader community “to align on the best path forward and identify ways to celebrate our pride in San Antonio.”
“We look forward to announcing those plans in the near future,” the statement continued, “so we can ensure our community is seen, heard, and uplifted.”
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