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6h ago

Florida Enforces Ban on Decorative Road Art as Orlando Starts Repainting Crosswalks

State officials frame the removals as a safety measure under new uniformity standards.

This art painted on the street at the intersection of S. Orange Ave. and Church Street is pictured on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
A bicycle lane at the intersection of Laureate Boulevard and Benavente Avenue, outside Laureate Park Elementary School in Lake Nona, on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025. The art on the bicycle lane will be painted over by FDOT. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)
Demonstrators wave flags and cheer during a protest at a crosswalk in front of the former Pulse nightclub in Orlando on Thursday, August 21, 2025. The crosswalk had been painted in rainbow-themed colors, but overnight Wednesday, the rainbow-colored paint was removed from the crosswalk by the Florida Department of Transportation in an ongoing effort to remove “political banners” from public roadways. This sparked outrage from the LGBTQ+ community. During Thursday’s protest, demonstrators “replaced” the rainbow colors on the crosswalk using chalk. The former Pulse gay nightclub is now a memorial site for the 49 victims who were murdered there in 2016. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
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Overview

  • Orlando crews began covering 14 decorative crosswalks today after FDOT flagged 18 sites, with the city noting four are on state roads and outside its control.
  • FDOT ordered the removal of student-designed bike‑lane art outside Laureate Park Elementary that the agency promoted in May as part of a safety initiative.
  • Roughly 400 roadway art projects statewide are now on potential removal lists, with deadlines clustered around Sept. 3–4 and warnings that noncompliance could affect funding.
  • An FDOT crew twice painted over the rainbow crosswalk at the Pulse memorial after protesters restored it, underscoring the state’s stepped‑up enforcement.
  • Gov. Ron DeSantis and FDOT leaders say roads cannot carry political messages, while federal guidance issued July 1 by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urges consistent, non‑art markings.