Abbott targets Texas cities' rainbow crosswalks
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Drivers traverse the intersection of Westheimer and Taft streets in Montrose, where the city of Houston repainted a rainbow crosswalk. Photo: Jay R. Jordan/Axios
Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to withhold transportation funding from Texas cities that don't remove "any and all political ideologies" from streets, a week after Houston repainted its rainbow crosswalk in Montrose.
Why it matters: The move aligns with the Trump administration's push to ban such displays nationwide.
Driving the news: Cities and counties have 30 days to remove "non-compliant installations" on streets or risk losing state and federal transportation funding and partnerships, according to a letter Texas Department of Transportation executive director Marc Williams sent to cities and counties Wednesday that was obtained by Axios.
- "Pavement markings such as decorative crosswalks, murals, or markings conveying artwork or other messages are prohibited on travel lanes, shoulders, intersections, and crosswalks unless they serve a direct traffic control or safety function," Williams wrote in the letter.
The latest: Hours after Abbott's announcement, the Metropolitan Transit Authority — which repainted Houston's rainbow crosswalk after it was removed during a repaving project — announced it would comply with Abbott's demands.
- "We recognize the significance this crosswalk has to the community, which is why our project team restored the infrastructure to its pre-construction condition," the authority stated in a press release.
- "However, given the recent directive, we will comply with the order to preserve support that is essential to our mission of providing safe, clean, reliable, and accessible transit to all communities that depend on our services."
What they're saying: "Texans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways," Abbott said in a press statement.
- "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 and suspension of agreements with TxDOT."
Between the lines: Abbott did not mention rainbow crosswalks like ones in Houston, Austin, Dallas and San Antonio, though they have long been targeted by anti-LGBTQ+ conservatives.
- Williams' letter references the U.S. Department of Transportation's SAFE ROADS initiative that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in July.
- "Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks," Duffy posted on X at the time.
The other side: Houston City Council Member Abbie Kamin, whose district includes the rainbow crosswalk, said Abbott "has no legal right to interfere with the people of Houston."
- "He's wasting time twiddling with unhinged stunts and obsessing about paint colors, meanwhile over a million Texans may lose their health care coverage, grocery prices are skyrocketing, we're at risk of flooding and extreme weather," Kamin tells Axios.
- "We have real problems that deserve real leadership, not wanna-be Trumps trampling on the rights of people and our communities."