In the face of a looming Jan. 31 deadline for removing the rainbow crosswalks on Cedar Springs Road, North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce CEO Tony Vedda and Cedar Springs Merchants Association representative Lee Daugherty met virtually this afternoon with city officials (Tuesday, Jan. 27) to discuss options. But, Vedda said following that meeting, little has been resolved.
The city has until Jan. 31 to file again for an exemption to Gov. Greg Abbot’s order that all non-standard crosswalks in the state be removed, or to file their “plan of action” for complying with the order. Vedda said today’s meeting yielded little if any new information, and, for now, the fate of the rainbow crosswalks remains up in the air.
The rainbow crosswalks along Cedar Springs Road were paid for — twice — through private donations coordinated by the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber. The original rainbow crosswalks, installed in 2020, had begun to deteriorate and were removed earlier this year, with a new, more durable design installed in their place. The Cedar Springs Merchants Association chipped in a hefty portion of the cost for the second installation.
Vedda said today they city had offered no information on if or how those private funds might he returned if the crosswalks are ultimately removed. Nor did city officials explain if and how the city might file a second request for an exemption or what would be necessary to make such a request successful.
City officials with University Park have said they will not be removing a crosswalk design that includes a large SMU Mustang logo in the middle of the intersection at Hillcrest and Daniel avenues because they say they believe that intersection is in compliance with Abbott’s orders. Some have suggested that the SMU Mustang design is “in compliance” because the mustang is in the middle of the intersection while the actual crosswalks are plain red brick with black lines on either side.
That, of course, begs the question: Could we just move the rainbows into the center of the various intersections along the Cedar Springs Strip and have the actual crosswalks be standard?
In the meantime, the order to remove Oak Lawn’s rainbow crosswalks still stands, although the timeline for such removal remains unknown. And it is, Vedda said, a bad decision by state and city officials.
“This decision sends the wrong message, and we won’t ignore it,” Vedda said. “The LGBTQ+ community will continue to show up, support local businesses and demand to be seen.
“Cedar Springs has always been a place where LGBTQ+ people show up fully and unapologetically,” he added . “Taking away the crosswalks won’t change that, it will only strengthen our resolve.”
In a press release this afternoon, leadership at CSMA also reiterated their opposition to removing the crosswalks, stressing that the order to do so isn’t, as Abbott claimed, about safety but is instead “a deliberate erasure” of the ” of that “visible promise” of safety and inclusiveness Oak Lawn represents for the city’s LGBTQ+ community.
“We see it for what it is,” the CMSA press release notes. “And our response is resolute, unwavering defiance. We are not retreating. … We will not be made invisible.”
— David Taffet