Kerrville crosswalks get caught up in Abbott’s battle against “ideological speech”

An effort to beautify some of Kerrville’s crosswalks has run afoul of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s targeting of rainbow-themed crosswalks that honor the LGBTQ+ community.

On Thursday, Kerrville Assistant City Manager Michael Hornes confirmed that the city must paint over artistic crosswalks honoring the Guadalupe River or risk losing state and federal transportation funding.

The Texas Department of Transportation sent Kerrville a letter Oct. 17 requiring the city to remove at least three decorative crosswalks installed by volunteers as part of the Kerrville Urban Trails System. The city has 30 days to submit a mitigation plan, and Hornes said it’s unlikely the city would receive an exception.

The crosswalks in question are two along Jefferson Street and another one at Clay and Water streets. While state law enables cities to control their streets, the effort may be an uphill battle.

“It sucks. I’m not excited about it,” Hornes said, calling the news “heartbreaking.”

KUTS volunteers painted the crosswalks as part of an initiative to promote walkability, accessibility and driver alertness through creative street art featuring water-themed designs as a nod to the nearby Guadalupe River.

Hornes acknowledged the volunteers “worked really hard to push to get it,” adding personal disappointment about having to remove the community-driven project.

“Y’all need some help repainting them?” asked Jeremy Walther, the KUTS founder who led the effort to paint the crosswalks.

The directive follows an order from Gov. Greg Abbott requiring all Texas cities to remove crosswalks that don’t comply with the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Abbott issued the order after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy launched a nationwide initiative in July targeting what he called “distractions” on roadways, including political messages and artwork.

Duffy sent letters to all 50 governors launching the SAFE ROADS initiative, calling for roadways, intersections and crosswalks to be kept free from what he termed “distractions,” including political messages and artwork. While the official letter didn’t specifically mention rainbow crosswalks, Duffy posted on social media that day: “Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks.”

Abbott’s position has long connected LGBTQ+ people as ideological rather than identifying, or as a community. It’s a position that has irritated supporters.

“Governor Abbott claims that they inject ideology into public spaces,” said Dallas City Councilmember Paul Ridley during a speech about rainbow crosswalks. “Well, sexual orientation is not an ideology, gender identity is not an ideology. No one calls being straight an ideology.”

Cities across Texas are grappling with similar orders. Houston’s transit authority has confirmed it will remove rainbow crosswalks in the Montrose neighborhood, while San Antonio officials said they plan to appeal the directive for their downtown rainbow crosswalk.

Abbott’s directive effectively bans symbols, flags or other designs that convey “social, political or ideological messages” on Texas roadways. Cities refusing to comply could lose state and federal transportation funding.

The order has primarily targeted rainbow crosswalks in major Texas cities, but TxDOT’s letter states that “pavement markings such as decorative crosswalks, murals or markings conveying artwork or other messages are prohibited” unless they serve a direct traffic control or safety function.
Kerrville’s situation differs from the rainbow crosswalk controversy in that the local art celebrates a natural feature central to the city’s identity rather than making a political statement. The Guadalupe River runs directly through Kerrville and is the focal point of the city’s park system and River Trail.

A 2022 study by Bloomberg Philanthropies found that asphalt art installations actually improved safety, with a 50% decrease in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians. However, federal officials have cited concerns that decorative crosswalks may cause confusion or reduce roadway uniformity.

The governor’s office has said the crackdown is part of an effort to maintain “a safe and consistent transportation network across Texas.”