SAN ANTONIO – A judge paved the way Friday afternoon for the City of San Antonio to continue work on removing rainbow crosswalks and installing rainbow sidewalks in the heart of the Pride Cultural Heritage District.
Though a conservative group and the organizer of the local Pride parade had argued the $170,000 worth of work needed council approval, Judge Christine Vasquez-Hortick denied their request for a temporary restraining order Friday afternoon.
The city said since money for that type of work had already been allocated, it didn’t require further approval for an individual project.
Work to replace the crosswalk with a standard black-and-white design, which is being done under pressure from the state, is expected to begin Monday as previously scheduled.
However, City Manager Erik Walsh had already paused the work on the sidewalks Thursday, citing the lawsuit and concerns from council member concerns, and it was not immediately clear when that work might restart.
The San Antonio chapter of the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum (TCLF) and Pride San Antonio filed a lawsuit Thursday afternoon in Bexar County district court against the city, city manager and director of Public Works.
TCLF San Antonio President Joe Garza and Pride SA Secretary James Poindexter are also named as plaintiffs.
Their attorney, Justin Nichols, called the two groups “strange bedfellows” and said they had approached him independently.
Pride San Antonio raised money to get the crosswalks installed in 2018, and Poindexter has repeatedly expressed frustration the city hasn’t done more to fight their removal.
He has said his group the city council to either decide to defend the crosswalks, tell the state to use its own money to replace them or repeal the city ordinance that created them.
Garza recently posted on social media that his group opposed the installation of the rainbow crosswalks “using discretionary funds and the bypassing of City Council oversight.”
Nichols said Friday that the crosswalk and sidewalk issues should be sorted out publicly by the city council.
“This is a democracy, not a bureaucracy,” he said.
Nichols told reporters after Friday’s ruling he needed to check with his clients to see how they wanted to proceed.
The crosswalks at North Main Avenue and East Evergreen Street are being removed due to pressure from the state.
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 and the suspension of agreements with the Texas Department of Transportation.
An attorney for the city said Friday the city currently has 20 major projects in effect with TxDOT with about $80 million in the balance.
Though the city attempted to get an exemption, it was unsuccessful, and city officials said they would replace the crosswalks with a standard black-and-white design by Jan. 15.
The new sidewalk striping, planned for a block north and a block south of the intersection, is meant as a way to continue showing support for the LGBTQ+ community.
“The city has tried its best to balance the interest of the public at large with the...making sure that we get the funding necessary from the Texas Department of Transportation to do the projects that need to be done for the community at large, while still recognizing and respecting the spirit of the intent behind the crosswalks as it was installed. And we feel like we struck that balance‚" Deputy City Attorney Deborah Klein told reporters after Friday’s decision.
Approximately $128,000 of the project costs are allocated toward the sidewalk painting, a city spokesman said Friday. The rest will go toward making the intersection compliant with Texas Department of Transportation regulations as well as routine sidewalk repair.
“There is no argument that we’re all disappointed...that the crosswalk had to come down. But in the end, we have the opportunity for this community to do bigger and better things,” said Maria Salazar, chairwoman of the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board.
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