Miami Beach latest city to lose rainbow crosswalk

Workers from the Florida Department of Transportation, or FDOT, over the weekend removed a brick crosswalk that had been painted with rainbow colors in support of the LGBTQ agenda. Crews paved over the sidewalk with standard asphalt in accordance with a federal transportation department directive to remove all crosswalk art across the country. Late last week, FDOT ruled against the city of Miami Beach’s appeal to exempt the crosswalk at Ocean Drive from the order because it did not conform to state traffic control standards. Crews in Orlando and other cities across the state have already removed similar street art.

What led up to this point? In his letter to every state’s attorney general, U.S. Transportation Department Secretary Sean Duffy said the decision to remove street art was part of a national SAFE ROADS initiative. The program is intended to make it easier for drivers and pedestrians to interpret right-of-way rules on roadways. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in August defended the state’s compliance with the order, saying crews were repainting streets regardless of the art’s political or social messaging.

Dig deeper: Read my report about other cities in Florida that tried to avoid the changes.