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Intersection of East Ocean Boulevard and Southeast First Street, Boynton Beach, Florida
But other Florida cities have shown no urgency is erasing their colored walkways.
One Florida city just blacked out rainbow decorations on a crosswalk. That came after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called colored decorations on roadways a dangerous “distraction.”
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Boynton Beach painted over the intersection of East Ocean Boulevard and Southeast First Street, which has been adorned in Pride colors since June 2021, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The city made the move after Duffy argued such decor was inappropriate on public roadways.
“Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” Duffy wrote in a letter to governors this month.
The Boynton Beach city government released a statement to media making clear it “removed the inclusionary-painted intersection on the 100 block of East Ocean Avenue to ensure full compliance with state and federal transportation mandates and address safety concerns.”
“The decision follows recent guidance from the U.S. Transportation Secretary and the Florida Department of Transportation,” the statement reads.
Related: Revenge of Transportation head Sean Duffy, wronged by a lesbian and a gay man: banning rainbow crosswalks
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this year signed a transportation law prohibiting “nonstandard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly contribute to traffic safety or control can lead to distractions or misunderstandings, jeopardizing both driver and pedestrian safety,” as reported by a Fox affiliate in Tampa.
But there is no evidence rainbow crosswalks have contributed to more traffic collisions. Indeed, traffic fatalities last year went down, despite the growing popularity of Pride walkways nationwide (and the presence of a gay transportation secretary).
Florida saw numerous local governments install rainbow crosswalks in the wake of the Pulse mass shooting, which left 49 mostly gay and Latino/a people dead in an Orlando club. Other cities haven’t shown any urgency for paving over Pride
One rainbow-decorated intersection was installed near the site of the nightclub, and Orlando officials have expressed no interest in removing it.
Out Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis also said his city has no plans to remove a rainbow crosswalk there and told the Sun Sentinel it poses no traffic risk because it isn’t on a major thoroughfare.
And just this week, Delray Beach, near Boynton Beach, released video as it investigates vandalism of a rainbow intersection there.
