Overview
- City crews milled away the rainbow-painted crosswalk early Tuesday on Mayor Randy Taylor’s order, ending seven years of the downtown installation.
- Taylor cited legal compliance and viewpoint-neutrality concerns, pointing to federal guidance that crosswalk lines should be solid white, while the State Highway Administration noted the street is under city jurisdiction.
- Shore Pride Alliance says the artwork was approved through a 2018 city arts process, redesigned with permission in 2021, and repainted each year by volunteers at no cost to Salisbury.
- Tensions escalated as activist KT Tuminello staged a hunger strike at the site and a City Council meeting turned contentious, with critics calling the removal discriminatory.
- The mayor linked the action to a broader Market Street repaving effort and highlighted a proposed city-run Crosswalk Canvas program, which would pay $3,000 for a new design but would shift costs to taxpayers.