Some Dallas leaders want to change the city’s policy on sidewalk markings so residents can paint the town again – months after a state directive banned and erased “political” signage from crosswalks.
During a committee meeting Monday, council members discussed updating the city’s code on sidewalks — which currently doesn’t allow any kind of public art — to allow for “temporary” markings that could recognize a neighborhood’s identity.
“This has been an issue in my district, along the Cedar Springs corridor where the rainbow crosswalks were eliminated under state mandate,” said District 14 council member Paul Ridley, who chairs the transportation and infrastructure committee.
Ridley said the Cedar Springs Merchant Association — which represents businesses along the main business strip in Dallas' historically LGBTQ+ Oak Lawn neighborhood — requested the ordinance be amended to allow the city’s director of transportation and public works to grant a permit for artwork on sidewalks.
“They have been looking at alternatives to identify the district and provide local content, without doing so in the street right of way,” Ridley said. “One of the areas that they've looked at is sidewalks.”
Gov. Greg Abbott’s mandate last year banned any public art or decorative signs, including roadway murals, on crosswalks in the state.
Neighborhood groups protested the removals as cities complied, but some have responded by installing rainbow-colored sidewalks, bike racks and other artwork to recognize neighborhood identity in Dallas and other cities.
Dallas transportation director Gus Khankarli said safety is his top priority for projects involving city-funded sidewalks. As for approving them based on the content, he said that’s not up to transportation staff.
“It's concerning when that type of approval is in the hands of a director without some sort of a policy from the body,” Khankarli told city leaders.
Some council members supported the idea of creating a program between the city’s Office of Arts and Culture and Transportation and Public Works that could designate permits for sidewalk art based on certain criteria.
Cara Mendelsohn, who represents District 12, said the conversation on public art has advanced further when it comes to trails and parks. Residents in her Far North Dallas district want to draw stencils on the Preston Ridge Trail.
“The stencils we're looking at using are all uniform childhood stencils, hopscotch, you know, dinosaur alphabet, that sort of thing,” she said. “I could imagine a scenario where somebody could put a swastika in front of their business, and then you start talking about these First Amendment rights.”
Council member William Roth, who represents District 11, shot down the idea entirely. He said the city shouldn’t be in the business of permitting art on the city’s right-of-way.
“I really think that it's not appropriate for us to be legislating or allowing folks to be dealing with our projects on our sidewalks and on our streets,” Roth said.
Chair Ridley asked city staff to follow up with the transportation committee on the legal implications of changing the code.
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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