Overview
- Community groups rallied Thursday at Main and Evergreen to oppose removal of the Pride district’s rainbow crosswalk and said they are prepared to pursue legal action if ordered to take it down.
- Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones attended the event, said she was not optimistic the state will grant an exemption, and did not commit to signing a pro-crosswalk resolution.
- City attorneys say they will submit an exemption request to TxDOT by Nov. 8, and the crosswalk remains in place pending the state’s response.
- Gov. Greg Abbott’s October directive, citing USDOT’s SAFE ROADS guidance, set a 30-day compliance window and threatened transportation funding for noncompliant cities.
- Installed in 2018 with roughly $19,000 in private donations, the crosswalk has not coincided with more crashes at the intersection, according to city data cited by advocates, as other Texas cities such as Houston have already removed rainbow markings.