San Antonio city officials are considering painting rainbow sidewalks in the city’s LGBTQ+ nightlife district following Gov. Greg Abbott’s order requiring municipalities to remove queer-themed crosswalks or risk losing millions in state funding.
The rainbow sidewalks would be along the intersection at North Main Avenue and Evergreen Street near the rainbow crosswalks’ current location, Assistant San Antonio City Attorney Krista Cover said during an LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee meeting this week.
Although staff offered no timeline for when those sidewalks might be put in place, District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur said during the meeting that her office will lead the way.
“We’re going to fund this,” Kaur said. “This is important to us, and … if our office and some of the other council offices have to support it, we will. But we’ve gotten a commitment from the city to execute on this.”
Discussion about the rainbow sidewalks comes shortly after the Texas Department of Transportation rejected San Antonio’s request for an exemption allowing it keep its rainbow crosswalks. That exemption request included data showing that the intersection was made safer by the brightly colored crosswalks.
The city is now identifying funds and contractors to remove the crosswalks, which must be scrubbed by Jan. 15 to comply with state orders.
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