Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Department of Transportation to make sure cities and counties remove rainbow crosswalks and other non-standard road markings that, according to the governor, promote “political ideologies.”
“Texans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways,” Abbott said in a statement on Wednesday. “I directed the Texas Department of Transportation to ensure Texas counties and cities remove any and all political ideologies from our streets.”
The directive effectively bans symbols, flags or other designs that convey “social, political, or ideological messages” on Texas roadways. Abbott warned that cities refusing to comply could lose state and federal transportation funding. The governor’s office referred questions about potential funding cuts to TxDOT. A department spokesperson pointed to a letter the agency sent Wednesday to all Texas cities and counties explaining the reasoning behind the directive.
In the letter, TxDOT said non-standard markings that don’t directly support traffic control or safety “may cause confusion, reduce roadway uniformity, and impair the effectiveness of both human and automated vehicle navigation.”
“Pavement markings such as decorative crosswalks, murals, or markings conveying artwork or other messages are prohibited on travel lanes, shoulders, intersections, and crosswalks unless they serve a direct traffic control or safety function,” the agency’s letter read. “This prohibition includes the use of symbols, flags, or other markings conveying any message or communications.”
TxDOT said local governments have 30 days to remove any designs that don’t meet the rules. The agency added that non-compliant roadways on the state highway system or funded through TxDOT must be modified.
The order appears to target rainbow crosswalks specifically, in cities like Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, which have installed them in recent years. Houston officials late Wednesday confirmed that the crosswalks will soon be removed to comply with federal regulations, while officials in San Antonio told Texas Public Radio they were skeptical that the state actually had the authority to paint over the local crosswalk.
Abbott’s order follows a July letter from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who urged governors to remove political messaging and artwork from roads. He also threatened to withhold federal roadway funding for cities and counties who didn’t comply.
“Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks,” Duffy wrote on social media in July. “Political banners have no place on public roads.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
