Under pressure from feds and the state, Gainesville City Commission votes to remove rainbow crosswalks

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – During the afternoon session of the August 7 meeting, the Gainesville City Commission voted to remove the rainbows painted on three crosswalks and asked staff to come back with ideas for creating new art installations to honor the LGBTQ community.

Transportation funding could be withheld if the crosswalks are not removed

Traffic Operations Manager George Gadiel told Commissioners that the City is required to follow federal and state regulations, and the City recently received a memo from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), stating that all traffic control devices, including pavement markings, must come into compliance with regulations; if the City does not come into compliance, state and federal funding could be withheld. Gadiel said a Florida Statute states that if FDOT directs a jurisdiction to remove traffic control devices that are out of compliance, “and if you end up having to remove the device, then it’s possible that, up to five years, you may not receive any funding for that device.”

Gadiel said the City has three non-compliant sidewalks (shown above) that were initially placed in September 2019 with materials donated by the Pride Community Center, at a cost of $10,000 (NE 1st Street at NE 1st Avenue, SE 1st Street at Bo Diddley Plaza, and SE 1st Street at SE 2nd Place); the City also has green shared lane markings on bike boulevards and South Main Street that are not compliant with the regulations.

The current regulations state that jurisdictions “shall not use pavement or surface art on any traffic control devices, including pavement markings, unless they are in direct support of public safety.”

Staff recommendation

Staff recommended replacing non-conforming crosswalks with crosswalk markings that meet the regulations, replacing the green shared lane markings with markings that meet the regulations, and replacing any other non-conforming traffic control devices as they are identified.

Ward: “There is no doubt in my mind… what they’re looking for.”

Mayor Harvey Ward said the memo from FDOT “makes it very clear what they’re looking for here. There is no doubt in my mind, after lots of conversations with the City Manager staff and with City Attorney staff, what they’re looking for.” He said the City does not have the ability to replace transportation funds “for several years to play chicken with FDOT or the U.S. Department of Transportation… So we don’t have the opportunity, in my opinion,… to say we’re just going to wait and see what happens… I think this is absurd, that we’re being asked to do this, but we are… What I hope we get today is some direction from the community… and staff to come up with some really great ideas to reaffirm our support for everybody in Gainesville, including everyone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community in Gainesville. Be very clear that no matter who you are or where you come from, or what you look like or whose hand you want to hold or what department of the store you buy your clothes in, I, as your neighbor and as Mayor, am glad that you want to be in this city.” He cautioned the Commission against making “snap decisions… for what comes next.”

Commissioner Casey Willits asked if the City could send the State an invoice for the costs of removing the crosswalks and shared lane markings, but Brian Singleton, Special Advisor to the City Manager for Infrastructure, said the State would have no duty to pay that. 

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut mentioned the recent removal of “zippers” on 8th Avenue at the request of the State, and Singleton said that cost the City about $60,000.

Singleton: “There is no flexibility on these devices we’re discussing.”

Willits asked whether the City could get exemptions to the regulations, and Singleton said, “There is no flexibility on these devices we’re discussing… It’s the standard; we must comply with them.”

Willits asked again if there was some way of asking permission for the rainbow crosswalks, and Singleton said the standard indicates that “if you are using the esthetic surface treatments, they cannot encourage people to interact with it, to remain in the roadway, etc… And in this particular case, that is not how they have functioned in this community.”

Public comment

About 16 individuals spoke during public comment. One said, “Silence is not an option. We are living under a system that wants to erase us.” Another asked whether the bricks from the crosswalk could be moved somewhere else or incorporated into a mural. A person who was self-described as a “queer and trans undergrad at UF” said, “The UF Student Government and the administration have dismantled nearly every queer safe space on campus… UF’s campus is not a safe place for queer folk, and as such, I would hope that the rest of the city is safer, yet… I can’t be certain of that… The bare minimum you can do now… is to make a new, bigger, permanent Pride installation somewhere else, in protest of the ridiculous, clear racial laws in the state,… just something to… make this a sanctuary city for queer folk like me.”

A woman suggested including a black and brown stripe “and a transsexual recognition” in any new installation and also suggested naming a street near the Hippodrome after Terry Fleming. A board member of the Pride Center said community members could remove the bricks from the crosswalks and save them to be placed in another location; she concluded, “I think Gainesville — gay — Gaynesville — is a magical place,… and we need to preserve the authenticity of it, and that includes preserving the LGBTQ+ community.”

One woman said people walk across the rainbow bridge in downtown Gainesville because “it feels affirming, and it feels like love, and it feels like a hug, and it feels like warmth, and it feels like the attributes of the city that I would hope that we are maintaining and growing as we grow as a city.” She encouraged people to “go to the rainbow crosswalk [while it is still there]. Stop walking, enjoy it while it’s there.”

Joshua Kelly, a nephew of Terry Fleming, said he didn’t know of any examples showing the crosswalks are unsafe and added, “It’s clear that the FDOT and our Governor, Ron DeSantis, intend to remove these crosswalks under an ideological pretense.” He cited data showing lower crash rates at “asphalt art… I encourage the Commission to not just allow this. I know your hands are tied, but I know Terry would do something, and so I urge you to come up with a different way of showing this pride, even if the crosswalks have to be removed.”

Amy Trask said the letter that threatened to remove funding “is intentionally vague as an attempt to — let’s not sugarcoat it — erase identity. It’s not about safety.” She asked the Commission to pass a resolution affirming the cultural and safety value of the crosswalks and make an appeal to the State, “making them put it in writing.” She also asked for a “letter of consistency to show that our project aligns with the Florida transportation plans.” If those things failed, she said they should move the crosswalk to the Streatery or add rainbows in other places. 

Crosswalks are constructed from preformed thermoplastic markings

After public comment, Willits asked Singleton whether the bricks were painted on the asphalt, and Singleton said the one by City Hall is brick, the one near Bo Diddley Plaza is on concrete, and the one in front of the Hippodrome is on brick. He said the crosswalks are constructed from preformed thermoplastic markings that are melted onto the surface with a blowtorch, and he said he did not know whether they could be removed intact.

Willits: “They can force us to paint over these rainbows, but we’re going to keep on shining.”

Willits said the crosswalks are “hopeful markers of history,… an inspiration for every person who just needs some inspiration, and I will say, they do feel like a hug when you go across them.” He added, “My message to the LGBT community: I’m sorry that we’re here today, I’m sorry that we couldn’t figure out a better way in years past to prepare for this. Sometimes we have to do things that are audacious and risky… Too many people seek to erase all traces of us. They want to cancel us… So I’m so proud that we are here, despite the realities of our world… We have relied on the refuges that we created, like Gainesville, like Alachua County, or our chosen families… They can force us to paint over these rainbows, but we’re going to keep on shining.”

First motion

Willits made a motion to “direct staff to request from FDOT a determination of the department’s discretion to allow the identified non-compliant traffic control devices or pavement markings to remain. The request should include documentation and rationale for each individual identified non-compliant traffic control device or pavement markings,… for permission to continue as non-compliant traffic control devices or pavement markings,” as well as including some reports and studies that he listed. He continued, “If no response is received, or if denied, at a date no earlier than August 15, 2025, to begin physically relocating, at City expense, the identified three art installations on the Northeast and Southeast 1st Street crosswalks and to remove or repaint all identified green bike rectangles to comply with FDOT demands. The process for relocating the three art installations and crosswalks [is] to include community feedback, engagement of the Gainesville Art in Public Places Trust, and communication with Alachua County, with the goal of relocating three re-imagined art installations to public places near the current sites.”

Commissioner Bryan Eastman said he wasn’t sure the first part of the motion worked “within the existing law… I don’t want to put us into a worse position than we already are by spotlighting certain things.” He asked staff to again explain the City’s options.

City Attorney Dan Nee said he didn’t think there was “any doubt amongst professionals” that the crosswalks are non-compliant. He said that sending a letter could “trigger a timeline” that could lead to sanctions like the removal of funding for five years. 

Eastman: “Taking bricks away does not erase the community.”

Eastman said, “Clearly, this is a social question. This is wrapping things up into the culture wars of everything else, and we are where we are. Taking bricks away does not erase the community.” He liked the idea of engaging the Art in Public Places Trust to find funding for new art installations and suggested some locations for murals. 

Willits continued to insist that he wanted “some sort of communication to FDOT, particularly about the crosswalks,” which would “give us some time” to decide what to do. 

Florida DOGE team brought up the crosswalks last week

City Manager Cynthia Curry said the rainbow crosswalks came up while the Florida DOGE team was at City Hall last week, and “they had already identified three of the areas as not in compliance.”

Singleton elaborated that “a lot of” the DOGE team were FDOT employees, and “as part of the traffic calming discussion, they asked if we had any non-conforming traffic control devices identified in the… memorandum, [and we indicated that] yes, we had three crosswalks and then the green shared lane markings, and we said we would be having a discussion about their removal. Their response was, ‘Yes, we already have them inventoried, and we are waiting to see how the City reacts.'”

Chestnut said she did not want to “antagonize the Department of Transportation — they’ve made it very clear… We are in serious budgetary problems right now… We don’t need to place ourselves in any further problems.”

Chestnut said that after Willits’s motion was considered, she would make a motion for staff to follow the directive and come into compliance with the regulations.

In response to a question from Commissioner Ed Book, Singleton reiterated, “I don’t see any flexibility in this particular situation” and said all the engineers in Traffic Control read it the same way.

Ward: “I would love for us to find ways to poke the bear, but that is not what we ought to do in this situation.”

Ward said, “Discretion is the better part of valor. I think if we invite folks who believe they’ve been clear to come be more clear, then they’re going to find other things to be clear about, and I don’t want that to happen. We know what they want us to do. I would love for us to find ways to poke the bear, but that is not what we ought to do in this situation.” He said he couldn’t support the first part of Willits’s motion, and he thought most of the second part was the same as the staff recommendation, with the addition that the crosswalks should be preserved as much as possible during removal. He concluded, “I hate being in this situation, but it’s not even David and Goliath; we don’t even have a little pile of rocks to work with.”

Since there was no second to Willits’s motion, Ward called on Eastman, who said he thought they should ask staff to come back with ideas for projects. 

Second motion

Chestnut made a motion to approve the staff recommendation to replace the non-conforming markings, and Book seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0, with Commissioners Desmon Duncan-Walker and James Ingle absent.

Third motion

Willits made a motion to direct staff to bring back a resolution to rename Northeast and Southeast 1st Street to Terry Fleming Street between the Hippodrome and 1st Avenue, but Singleton said the section of SE 1st Street from 2nd Place to 2nd Avenue already has a dual name. Book suggested talking to Fleming’s husband to find out what would be appropriate, and Willits changed his motion to “rename a portion of 1st Street to Terry Fleming Street.” The motion passed 5-0, with Duncan-Walker and Ingle absent.

Fourth motion

Eastman made a motion to direct staff to return to the Commission in October with options for relocating the rainbow art installations in coordination with the Gainesville Art in Public Places Trust and with plans for a community engagement process. Willits seconded the motion. 

Singleton reiterated that staff would do their best to salvage the bricks, but he did not know how they would look; he said the concrete could not be salvaged. Eastman said that when he used the word “relocating,” he didn’t mean moving the physical infrastructure, “but more the spirit of it is relocated.” The motion passed 5-0, with Duncan-Walker and Ingle absent.

Ward: “I would urge everyone to remember exactly how we got here, both the good and the bad, and carry it with you to the voting booth when you get that opportunity.”

After the votes, Ward said, “I hope it’s clear that this Commission cares and staff cares and that we want to make this as right as we possibly can. And I would urge everyone to remember exactly how we got here, both the good and the bad, and carry it with you to the voting booth when you get that opportunity.”