Austin removes rainbow crosswalks after federal order

Austin quietly removed several painted crosswalks from city streets Wednesday, citing pressure from the federal government. In a memo released Thursday, Richard Mendoza, Austin’s director of transportation and public works, wrote that federal officials required the city to remove three “aesthetically treated” crosswalks by the end of the day Wednesday. Two of the crosswalks — at Morrow and Watson streets in North Austin and Manor Road and Leona Street in East Austin — were painted with a rainbow pattern. The third, at Pedernales Street and Webberville Road in East Austin, was painted to look like bricks. The crosswalks, Mendoza said, were painted as part of a research project conducted by the Federal Highway Administration. “FHWA provided notification of the termination of the experiment, which included direction to restore the sites to their previous conditions,” he wrote. The city confirmed the crosswalks were repainted Wednesday. The markings were initially installed in October 2024. The change comes after Gov. Greg Abbott in October directed cities to remove “political ideologies” from streets or face funding cuts, following cues from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who wrote to governors over the summer urging them to crack down on rainbow crosswalks in the name of safety. The Texas Department of Transportation gave cities and counties until early November to remove “decorative crosswalks, murals, or markings conveying artwork or other messages.” Austin has requested an exemption from TxDOT to keep 15 non-standard markings, including the three removed Wednesday, but has not yet received a response. “However, because these three particular crossings were developed in partnership with FHWA, the final decision rests with them,” Mendoza wrote, noting that federal officials did not grant a request for an extension of the Wednesday deadline to remove the markings. “TxDOT cannot override the decision by the FHWA, and therefore, the FHWA decision is final.” The other 12 markings remain in place as the city awaits TxDOT’s decision.