Enjoy this colorful crossing outside Bedford Junior High before it's gone. Photo: Naheed Rajwani-Dharsi
The city of Bedford says it will have to remove two "meaningful pieces of community art" to comply with the Texas Department of Transportation's directive to standardize the look of public roads.
Why it matters: The directive has caused friction between city and state officials over whether roads can also serve as community art displays.
Catch up quick: Last month, TxDOT director Marc Williams gave local governments 30 days to remove all "pavement markings" that don't serve a direct traffic control or safety function.
Non-compliant markings or signage "may cause confusion, reduce roadway uniformity, and impair the effectiveness of both human and automated vehicle navigation," Williams said.
Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withhold transportation funding from Texas cities that don't remove "any and all political ideologies" from streets.
Context: InOak Lawn, several privately funded rainbow crossings serve as symbols of the neighborhood's role in Texas' gay rights movement.
In Bedford, painted crosswalks at Harwood Junior High and Bedford Junior High feature student artwork.
State of play: Both Bedford and Dallas requested exemptions from the state to keep their artsy crosswalks.
Bedford said its crossings were determined to be noncompliant, even though they do not have any social or political messaging.
The city will start the removal process on Monday and estimates it will cost around $5,300.
"We are truly disappointed to lose these meaningful pieces of community art, which brought color, pride, and student creativity to our school zones," Bedford officials said in a Facebook post.
Zoom out: Dallas officials did not respond to a question yesterday about whether they have received word on their exemption request.
