The Dallas Transportation and Public Works Department began removing “decorative pavement markings” on March 23, according to a memo from Assistant City Managers Dev Rastogi and Liz Cedillo-Pereira.
They project the city will finish replacing 30 crosswalks by April 28.
HAPPENING NOW: The city of Dallas, Texas, has begun removing all gay pride rainbow crosswalks from the city.
The move comes after Texas Governor Greg Abbott made the order back in October.
About time. pic.twitter.com/NcqlMdd8WB
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 23, 2026
Dallas officials coordinated the removals with a resurfacing project on Oaklawn Avenue, including the Cedar Springs Road intersection, which has a rainbow crosswalk. This sits in front of the Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, which painted its steps rainbow to protest the crosswalk changes, as The Dallas Express reported.
“The Office of Arts and Culture is reviewing peer‑city approaches to determine alternatives to pavement markings and developing guidance for how public art may be incorporated in the right-of-way going forward,” Rastogi and Cedillo-Pereira wrote.
City officials have already begun speaking with “community stakeholders,” according to the memo.
The Office of Arts and Culture is planning three listening sessions to gather input on potential projects related to “neighborhood identity.” Notably, one activist referred to the area near the rainbow crosswalk in Oak Lawn as the “gayborhood,” as The Dallas Express reported.
The first listening session is set for Uptown at Theater Three from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on April 6. Another is set for South Dallas, at the South Dallas Cultural Center from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on April 8. The last hearing is set for Cedar Springs, at the Reverchon Recreation Center from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on April 10.
State Standards, Local Response
In October, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered cities to remove rainbow crosswalks, as The Dallas Express reported. He cited safety concerns and pledged to withhold funding from cities that keep “political ideologies” on the roads.
“Texans expect their taxpayer dollars to be used wisely, not advance political agendas on Texas roadways,” Abbott wrote at the time.
Dallas City Manager Kim Tolbert filed a last-minute exemption request with the Texas Department of Transportation on November 6, one day before the deadline, as DX also reported. She asked to exempt 30 crosswalks from the order.
“The city’s decorative crosswalks are a form of government speech, expressing civic values and community identity through design in a manner that is consistent with the city’s authority to manage and maintain its streets,” Tolbert wrote at the time.
Ultimately, Tolbert complied, according to a January 30 memo. Dallas officials said they would follow the order to remove road markings with “social, political, or ideological messages.” As The Dallas Express reported, this was one day before the state deadline to submit a removal plan or risk funding loss.
The Dallas City Council approved 10 rainbow crosswalks for Oak Lawn in 2019, as part of a $1.4 million project. They were projected to cost $128,000 and were at least partially funded by private donations.
