Read more at LGBTQ Nation.
The City of St. Petersburg, Florida, has unveiled 11 Pride-themed bike racks to replace the rainbow crosswalks Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) forced officials to remove.
“Pride on the streets!” declared a social media post from the city and its mayor, Ken Welch (D), who called the bike racks “a vibrant way to honor the Pride street murals that were removed earlier this year due to state requirements.”
The post includes a video of construction workers installing the colorful racks, some of which are rainbow for the Pride flag and others that are the colors of the Trans Pride flag.
Folks celebrated the move in the comments, calling the new displays “amazing,” “clever,” “awesome,” “beautiful,” and “a smarter path forward.”
“Love our little inclusive, Sunshine City,” one person wrote.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” said another.
The state of Florida has become the epicenter of Republicans’ rainbow crosswalk crackdown. The DeSantis administration has heeded warnings from federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who has falsely claimed Pride art is distracting to drivers.
Duffy wrote in a July 1 letter to the nation’s governors that all non-freeway intersections and crosswalks must be kept “free from distractions.” In a subsequent X post, he said, “Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks.”
In response, DeSantis signed a law directing the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) “to ensure compliance with FDOT’s uniform system for traffic control devices,” according to a July statement from a department spokesperson. The law effectively bans all pavement art and murals like rainbow crosswalks, regardless of their political message.
The DeSantis administration has been aggressive about ensuring the crosswalks are erased, despite protests and resistance from local leaders.
St. Petersburg officials ultimately complied with the order to remove its crosswalks upon the threat of losing state funding, but Mayor Welch made it clear in August that he would not stand down from defending progressive values.
In a press conference, Welch called the order to remove the crosswalks an attempt by the state “to usurp local values and priorities and instead mandate what our values should be.”
“We’ve seen the attempts to stifle our ability to express and celebrate our community values,” he added. “Yet time and time again, our community has risen to the occasion. And this latest challenge will be no exception.”
A post from the city’s official social media account said the murals that had to be removed – which included one declaring, Black History Matters – “reflect the soul of our community.”
“That message can’t be erased. This is our city, our voice, and our story… Together, we’ll continue building a community that is resilient, inclusive, and united.”
While state and federal officials have said that street art distracts drivers, data from the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2022 Asphalt Art Safety Study contradicts that claim.
The study found that crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists drop 50% at painted intersections. It also reported a 25% decrease in conflicts between drivers and pedestrians, a 27% increase in drivers immediately yielding to pedestrians, and a 38% decrease in pedestrians crossing when the walk signal was not lit at intersections involving public art. The data also revealed that injuries resulting from crashes drop 37% in painted intersections.
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