North Austin's Crestview neighborhood is pushing back after a rainbow crosswalk, which residents say represents inclusion, was erased by the city without warning last week. The city cited a federal directive to remove nonstandard road markings amid pressure from Texas state leaders to eliminate "political ideologies" from public roadways.
By the next morning, the community group chat began orchestrating a protest. Whitney Kral, a resident who lives nearby, noted that by Sunday evening, the intersection and surrounding driveways were even more colorful than before. Celeste Padilla, another resident, convinced several nearby homeowners to allow her to paint rainbow stripes on their driveways and recruited a group of neighbors to help. Another group used washable, chalk-based paint to restripe the crosswalk in its original colors.
The pastor of nearby Violet Crown City Church even painted the giant Adirondack chair that sits out front; it now reads, “Crestview (hearts) crosswalks.”
State and federal officials have cited driver and pedestrian safety as the chief reason for removing nonstandard crosswalks, but Crestview residents aren't buying it. "The reasoning behind it is definitely against political and activist messaging," said Karla Manzur Vanderbrook, who recently added rainbow stripes to her driveway adjacent to the crosswalk. If the situation has a silver lining for Crestview residents, it's seeing the neighborhood form a "united front."