Austin's roadway art, including the rainbow crosswalk at Fourth and Colorado streets and the "Black Artists Matter" painted on 11th Street could soon be gone.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered cities and counties Wednesday to remove displays like these or risk losing state and federal money for road projects. He said this order will comply with a federal policy banning symbolic language and roadway art.
A TxDOT letter to cities and counties gives them 30 days to remove any "decorative crosswalks, murals, or markings conveying artwork or other messages."
"This prohibition includes the use of symbols, flags, or other markings conveying any message or communications," the letter from TxDOT's Executive Director Marc Williams read.
The city said it "will comply" with the new guidelines in a statement Wednesday.
Austin's Transportation and Public Works Department did not immediately respond on Thursday to whether it would repaint the Pride-themed crosswalk or the 11th Street art within 30 days. It's unclear if the order will apply to other roadway art, including the "TEXAS" on Guadalupe Street just off of UT Austin's campus.
In 2020, Austin artists painted "Black Austin Matters" on Congress Avenue downtown and "Black Artists Matter" on 11th Street. While the Congress Avenue art has faded, the 11th Street art is still visible.
Less than a year later, the city painted the intersection of Fourth and Colorado with the colors of the Pride flag in 2021. The city OK'd a plan to paint the intersection to honor longtime LGBTQ+-friendly businesses.
Austin drag queen and activist Brigitte Bandit said the decision by state leadership to paint over these works is a continuation of attacks on LGBTQ+ Texans from state lawmakers. Bandit, who is a member of Ausitn's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Quality of Life Advisory Commission, said the crosswalk doesn't represent a traffic hazard. She said it is an acknowledgement of the block that has welcomed LGBTQ+ Austinites since the '90s.
"They're just scapegoating trans Texans and queer people and trying to make us scared ... even to the point of removing a crosswalk, you know?" she said. "That does not harm anybody That doesn't do any anything. It's about purposely trying to erase us from feeling welcomed, from being seen, from being supported and from being celebrated."
KUT News reached out to Capitol View Arts, a Black-led nonprofit that organized the painting of "Black Austin Matters" on Congress Avenue and "Black Artists Matter" outside the historic Victory Grill on 11th Street but has not heard back.
Abbott's order came shortly after a rainbow crosswalk in Houston was repainted following construction. After the crosswalk was reinstated, a campaign started on social media by conservative-leaning account Libs of TikTok highlighting sidewalks emblazoned with Pride flag colors that they say violate the new Trump administration policy. Houston said it would repaint its crosswalk Thursday, according to Houston Public Media.
