Artwork on several crosswalks in the City of Lubbock will be removed to comply with state and federal law, including those honoring Buddy Holly.
Lubbock's interim division director of public works, David Bragg, gave a presentation at the Lubbock City Council meeting on Nov. 11, explaining the guidelines.
"The state and federal mandates are saying that we cannot have any artwork on the roadways," he explained. "So on November 5 of this year, we notified the TxDOT district that the decorative crosswalks will be removed."
On Oct. 8, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a statement directing the Texas Department of Transportation and Mobility to ensure cities and counties are complying with state and federal road safety laws.
In the press release, Abbott explained that "non-standard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly support traffic control or safety are strictly prohibited, including the use of symbols, flags, or other markings conveying social, political, or ideological messages."
Following the governor's directive, TxDOT sent mandates to local transportation offices to remove "non-compliant installations" within 30 days or risk the withholding or denial of funding, and the suspension of jurisdiction agreements with TxDOT.
Along with loss of funding, Bragg said if there were an accident on a non-compliant crosswalk that the city has claimed is safe, it could potentially create liability concerns for the city.
In July, months before the directives in Texas, the U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent letters to governors of all 50 states to "eliminate distractions" and get "back to basics" when it comes to their roads.
"Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks," Duffy said on social media. "Political banners have no place on public roads."
Duffy, Abbott, and TxDOT have presented the mandate as an issue of safety, saying that non-standard designations may be confusing to drivers and pedestrians.
Critics however, argue the order is about targeting queer iconography and history.
Crosswalks in downtown Lubbock depicting Buddy Holly's iconic glasses were put into place in 2020.
Other crosswalks with art set to be removed: the colorful polka dots on Mac Davis Lane from the Memorial Civic Center to Buddy Holly Hall painted in 2021, and crosswalks in the Heart of Lubbock at 23rd Street and Avenue V painted by Texas Tech School of Art students with a design based on the mesquite bean.
According to city manager Jarett Atkinson, the replacement of the crosswalks would be done at the expense of the city, but as part of normal street maintenance.
Bragg told KTTZ last month that the removal of the painted pavement would be fairly inexpensive and only take a few hours.
"We will have to most likely grind up where the glasses exist on the pavement," he said.
The maintenance is not expected to cause extended traffic delays.
Bragg said that the city's decorative brick pavers have been approved as acceptable crosswalks.
Atkinson said the way the mandates are written currently is broad, despite the intention being to target political messaging.
"I presume, after this settles down, we'll probably get better guidance in the future," he said. "I do think we need to comply, and then we'll keep on it. And if there's an opportunity to get enough clarity to allow us to come back and do some of these things, we'll certainly look at doing that and bringing it back."
There is currently no projected timeline for the removal of the crosswalk artwork.
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