The City of San Antonio took its first steps Monday morning to remove the Pride District’s rainbow crosswalks — a move mandated by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who threatened to cut off state transportation funding to municipalities that convey “ideological messages” on their roads.
Around 10 a.m., city contractors used a pavement-cutting tool to remove round samples from the crosswalks at Main Avenue and Evergreen Street for historic preservation. The crew will spend the day removing two samples of each color from the traffic feature, according to city officials.
Actual removal of the crosswalks is expected to get underway Tuesday, and the new one is expected to be in place by Thursday, Abbott’s removal deadline.
Although the city initially planned to paint rainbow sidewalks around the same intersection, that plan is on hold due to a lawsuit. That legal challenge — filed last week by Pride San Antonio and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum — disputes whether the city has authority to spend $170,000 in tax dollars to remove the crosswalk and install Pride-themed crosswalks instead.
“The city is trying its best to balance the interest of the public at large and making sure that we get the funding necessary from the Texas Department of Transportation to do the projects that need to be done for the community at large while still recognizing and respecting the spirit and intent behind the crosswalks,” Deputy City Attorney Deborah Klein told reporters Friday.
Klein’s comments came after a district court judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order that would halt the crosswalk’s removal along with the installation of the rainbow sidewalks.
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