By Edmond Ortiz
Local LGBTQ community members say they remain undeterred by the state’s threats to remove the rainbow crosswalks at North Main Avenue and Evergreen Street near downtown San Antonio.
What is happening
City officials filed an exemption with the Texas Department of Transportation on Nov. 5, contending rainbow crosswalks do not violate state or federal laws.
The city’s communication to TxDOT was in response to Gov. Greg Abbott warning in October that cities risk losing state or federal funding if they have crosswalks bearing social, political, or ideological messages.
“Texans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways,” Abbott said in an Oct. 8 statement.
Texas cities had 30 days to demonstrate compliance with federal standards or face the possibility of the state withholding or denying state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT. Cities such as Houston have removed their rainbow crosswalks.
In their letter to TxDOT, city officials cited the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, arguing that “an aesthetic colored pavement not intended to communicate regulations is not considered to be a traffic control device, even if it is located between the lines of a crosswalk.”
Local LGBTQ advocates have insisted that the rainbow crosswalks, originally installed in 2018 and funded by private donations, symbolize cultural pride, civil rights and inclusivity.
Community members have also embraced the rainbow crosswalks as the heart of the surrounding Pride Cultural Heritage District, which was formally dedicated in a June 20 ceremony as part of local Pride Month celebrations.
“The rainbow-colored crosswalks, and the neighborhood and community they represent, are deeply ingrained into the culture of San Antonio, and they continue to serve as a symbol of inclusiveness and safety,” city officials wrote in their letter to the state.
What they are saying
While LGBTQ community leaders say they are encouraged by the city’s support in their efforts to preserve the rainbow crosswalks in the Tobin Hill neighborhood, adding that Abbott’s declaration is less about complying with traffic and road standards and more about politics.
James Poindexter, secretary of Pride San Antonio, said in a Nov. 4 online video that the rainbow crosswalks have neither polarized the neighborhood nor been unsafe for pedestrians or motorists.
“Since the crosswalks have been there, they’ve been an integral part of the neighborhood,” Poindexter said.
“They were installed and established according to state and federal universal guidelines for crosswalks, and they were approved by the City Council. They still meet those state and federal guidelines and standards today. There’s nothing that is inappropriate or improper with the installation of the crosswalks.”
Abbott’s order prompted Pride San Antonio to circulate an online petition, calling on city leaders and allies to band together and resist threats against the rainbow crosswalks.
Poindexter called such threats an attempt to bully a community. As of late Nov. 6, more than 2,550 people had signed the petition.
“We will not be a victim of a political mugging. We are not going to hand over our lunch money. We’re not going to hand over our wallet to our purses. We’re not going to hand over our crosswalks,” he added.
Still, LGBTQ community members such as representatives with Pride San Antonio are dissatisfied that many city leaders, namely Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, San Antonio’s first lesbian mayor, have not signed the aforementioned petition or been more vocal in defense of the rainbow crosswalks.
Jones appeared at an Oct. 30 rally at the rainbow crosswalks, saying she was not confident about the state approving the exemption for San Antonio.
“I have to think about everybody in our community and what this could mean for them,” Jones told the crowd. “We don’t live in California, we don’t live in Illinois, we live in Texas, and I have an obligation to think of everybody in our community in mind.”
Poindexter said, despite what the mayor thinks, Pride San Antonio and its allies will fight for the rainbow crosswalks.
“The mayor appears that she wants to capitulate, that she’s not willing to discuss the crosswalk and the fight for the crosswalk. She did not want to sign the resolution,” Poindexter said.
“But just know that we are going to fight for this. This is a winnable cause.”
