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Dallas, TX
Dallas says rainbow crosswalks will be removed within 90 days
Dallas will remove its rainbow, Black Lives Matter and other decorative crosswalks within 90 days and consider replacing them with some other form of public art, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert announced Friday.
In a memo to the City Council, Tolbert confirmed the city submitted a plan to the Texas Department of Transportation earlier in the day that would put Dallas in compliance with state standards for the road markings.
“While the City maintains that existing crosswalk designs do not present measurable public safety issues, we appreciate TxDOT’s partnership in sustaining safe and efficient multimodal transportation within Dallas,” she wrote.
The decision comes ahead of a Saturday deadline set by TxDOT, which had rejected the city’s request to keep 30 decorative crosswalks.
TxDOT had required a signed and sealed certification from a traffic engineer confirming the road markings complied with state standards, a document Tolbert has previously told the agency that the city couldn’t provide.
The deadline comes after a monthslong dispute over the crosswalks, which TxDOT says violate state standards requiring plain white markings.
Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the removal of decorative crosswalks around the state in October, calling markings like rainbow crosswalks “distractions” that promote political messages. Advocates argue they represent neighborhood pride, not safety hazards.
Cities refusing to comply risk losing state or federal transportation funding among other possible consequences, state transportation agency officials said.
Rainbow Crosswalk supporters respond to the message of a guest speaker during a meeting to share information on the state of Rainbow Crosswalks in Oak Lawn. The gathering was held at the Legacy of Love Monument at the intersection of Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue in Dallas on October 18, 2025.
Steve Hamm / Special Contributor
“I wish our governor would spend time on things that actually moves the needle for our state instead of picking on vulnerable populations and low hanging fruit for political gain,” Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua told The Dallas Morning News late Friday. His district in South Dallas has 16 Black Lives Matter crosswalks.
“This just means we have to get creative,” he added.
Council member Paul Ridley, whose district includes rainbow and other artistic crosswalks, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Friday, but told The News earlier in the day he believed the city would submit a plan to the state by the end of the business day.
Ridley previously praised city officials for appealing to try to keep the crosswalks.
Gus Khankarli, the city’s transportation and public works director, didn’t respond to requests for comment Friday.
Along with the South Dallas crosswalks, the installations in Dallas include 10 rainbow crosswalks in Oak Lawn and four individualized art crosswalks in Uptown.
Tolbert said in her memo that city officials plan to reach out to community leaders to “explore creative approaches that reflect neighborhood identity and character through community art initiatives.”
Crosswalks changes
REMOVAL: Dallas will remove the rainbow, Black Lives Matter and other decorative crosswalks within 90 days to comply with a Texas directive.
STATE PRESSURE: The move comes after state transportation officials rejected the city’s appeal, with funding at risk if Dallas failed to comply.
WHAT’S NEXT: City officials say they will explore other forms of public art to reflect neighborhood identity once the markings are removed.
