Overview

• In a July 1 letter, Secretary Sean Duffy urged all state and territorial governors to remove rainbow-painted crosswalks, calling them divisive political messages that distract from road safety.
• The directive embeds the removal order within the Federal Highway Administration’s SAFE ROADS initiative, which mandates each state transportation department to submit a list of its most hazardous arterial segments within 60 days.
• Duffy cited an estimated 39,345 traffic fatalities in 2024—a 3.8 percent decline from 2023—as still unacceptable and insisted on consistent white crosswalk markings under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
• The 2025 guidance revives a 2011 FHWA ruling against crosswalk art and requires states to complete designated safety upgrades by the end of fiscal year 2026.
• Since 2012, cities from West Hollywood to Philadelphia and Atlanta have installed rainbow crosswalks as LGBTQ+ solidarity symbols, setting up a clash between local identity projects and new federal regulations.