Dallas community reacts to Abbott's threat against rainbow crosswalks

DALLAS - Dallas could lose state funding if rainbow crosswalks and other similar displays are not painted over.

The Texas Department of Public Transportation said cities must remove street art with "political ideologies" within 30 days.

Rainbow Crosswalks Threatened

What we know:

On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said he was directing TxDOT to ensure Texas counties and cities remove any and all political ideologies from public streets.

"Any city that refuses to comply with the federal road standards will face consequences including the withholding or denial of state and federal road funding," the governor said.

Abbott said under federal and state guidelines for roadway safety, non-standard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly support traffic control or safety are strictly prohibited, including the use of symbols, flags, or other markings conveying social, political, or ideological messages.

What we don't know:

Abbott did not refer to specific instances of political road markings in his news release. 

Local perspective:

Crosswalks like one in the Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas featuring a colorful rainbow appear to be what the governor is targeting in his crosshairs. In his statement, the governor said Texans should not expect their taxpayer dollars to be used to advance political agendas on Texas roadways.

But leaders in Oak Lawn, which is recognized as the heart of Dallas’ gay community, argued that their rainbow crosswalks were fully funded and are maintained through private donations.  

"What is in it’s place now are TxDOT regulated crosswalks where you have white on the outside and yellow in the middle," said Lee Daugherty, who owns a popular bar in the neighborhood. 

There’s also Black Lives Matter crosswalks that were painted at the intersection of Malcom X and MLK boulevards in Dallas back in 2022. 

The city of Dallas confirmed that it has received a letter from TxDOT. Staff will review and evaluate it so that the City Council can take any necessary steps.

What they're saying:

Constitutional law attorney David Coale believes the state could face legal pushback, like Florida did when it put a similar policy in place earlier this year.

"There’s a very high level to what the governor says and then kind of the devil in the details," he said. "It’s colorful. But no one’s been complaining about safety until now, which leads back to the First Amendment argument that maybe your problem here isn’t really a concern about highway safety."

Coale said the interesting part is that if TxDOT or the governor forces the city of Dallas to remove these publicly funded crosswalks, they would be using public tax dollars to do so.