Dallas is preparing to scrub dozens of decorative crosswalks from its streets, including the rainbow stripes that have long marked stretches of Oak Lawn, and says the work will roll out over the next 90 days. City officials plan to pair each removal with neighborhood outreach so residents can weigh in on other ways to showcase community identity through public art.
According to The Dallas Morning News, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert told the City Council in a memo that the city has submitted a compliance plan to the Texas Department of Transportation and will take up the markings to meet state standards. Tolbert wrote that “while the City maintains that existing crosswalk designs do not present measurable public safety issues,” the city still recognizes TxDOT’s role in keeping transportation networks safe and efficient for all kinds of travel.
Earlier this month, TxDOT rejected Dallas’s request for an exception and set a Saturday deadline that required the city either to remove the decorative paint or submit a fresh exemption request backed by a licensed traffic engineer, NBC 5 Dallas‑Fort Worth reported. The agency warned that if Dallas did not comply, the state could withhold certain state or federal transportation funds or suspend existing agreements with the city.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the statewide crackdown in October, arguing that non‑standard pavement markings can carry political messages and distract drivers, and TxDOT officials have pointed to the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as the basis for their enforcement push, FOX 4 reported. City leaders counter that the paint is meant to show neighborhood pride and reflect local history, often paid for with private dollars, and they warn the state’s move risks wiping away long‑standing symbols of community identity.
Where the crosswalks sit
The city’s filing lists about 30 decorative crosswalk treatments across Dallas. That total includes 10 rainbow crosswalks in Oak Lawn, four custom art crosswalks in Uptown, and several Black Lives Matter markings in South Dallas, The Dallas Morning News reported. Many of the rainbow designs were funded privately, and the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce says it helped pay for both installation and upkeep, according to CBS News Texas.
Why TxDOT says the designs fail to meet standards
TxDOT has said the crosswalk artwork does not comply with federal and state traffic rules, which generally allow only plain white crosswalk markings, and told Dallas that its earlier exemption request was not backed by a signed, sealed certification from a licensed traffic engineer, NBC 5 reported. City staff have asked the agency to spell out how, in TxDOT’s view, the existing designs create safety hazards and say they will work with the city attorney’s office while drafting the city’s formal response.
Legal and funding risks
Transportation officials have warned that if Dallas refuses to comply, the city could put some state and federal transportation dollars at risk and could see certain agreements between TxDOT and the city suspended, outcomes local leaders say would threaten key projects, FOX 4 reported. City officials say the new compliance plan creates a 90‑day window that lets staff coordinate removal work while also gathering public input on replacement art and other placemaking efforts that do not involve painting the roadway.
Supporters say removal erases neighborhood identity
Supporters of the rainbow designs argue that the crosswalks are visual shorthand for neighborhood pride and Oak Lawn’s LGBTQ history, not vehicles for partisan politics. Tony Vedda, CEO of the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, told CBS News Texas that the chamber helped bankroll the installations and that if the paint has to go, community members will look for other visible ways to signal inclusion.
What comes next
City staff say they will work with neighborhood leaders to time the removals and to explore new public art options that do not rely on street‑level markings. Oak Lawn United Methodist Church and other private‑property owners have already secured local approvals to keep pride displays on their own sites, and those installations are not affected by the state’s directives for public roadways, according to the church’s public notice and related filings.
