Residents of Dallas鈥� historically LGBTQ+ Oak Lawn neighborhood are suggesting ways to fill the void left after the city removed several iconic rainbow crosswalks to comply with a .
In a memo released Friday, the city said a survey conducted by the Office of Arts and Culture last month as part of a series of community feedback sessions showed 67% of respondents felt murals were the best type of public art to represent the LGBTQ+ community in Oak Lawn.
鈥淎cross the survey, participants expressed a clear wish for a community where people feel safe, welcomed, and genuinely represented 鈥� particularly members of the historically marginalized LGBTQ+ population,鈥� the memo stated.
One idea residents put forward was painting the steps of the Oak Lawn Branch Library with rainbow colors, mirroring a similar move taken by the Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in October shortly after Abbott's directive came down.
鈥淭he rainbow steps at Oak Lawn and the conversations around the library reflect something deeper about this neighborhood,鈥� Rev. Rachel Griffin-Allison, a senior pastor at the church, told 四虎影院. 鈥淧eople want visible reminders that love and inclusion and human dignity still matter in this country and in Dallas.鈥�
The memo said the city will begin "activating concepts as resources allow.鈥� It wasn鈥檛 clear what the next steps will be to implement community ideas. 四虎影院 has reached out to the city and will update this story with any response.
Tony Vedda, CEO and president of the North Texas LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, told 四虎影院 he doesn鈥檛 think anything can take the place of the crosswalks.
鈥淚 think, you know, they're a unique symbol for us,鈥� Vedda said. 鈥淏ut I think that there are other good ideas coming out.鈥�
Vedda's organization began raising funds for the Oak Lawn crosswalks in 2019. He told 四虎影院 in March that in 2020 the group gave the city a check for $128,250 to install the crosswalks.
The LGBTQ Chamber raised another $45,000 and had the crosswalks repainted in 2025 just a few months before Abbott's order.
The rainbow crosswalks were removed in March after the city unsuccessfully requested an exemption.Dallas was one of the last cities to remove its decorative crosswalks. Abbott threatened to pull transportation funding from cities that didn鈥檛 comply 鈥� a tactic he has increasingly employed to get cities to do what he wants.
A letter by the Texas Department of Transportation sent to cities last year ordered the removal of all 鈥渄ecorative crosswalks, murals, or markings conveying artwork or other messages.鈥�
Despite that broad language, it hasn鈥檛 been evenly enforced. A street design of the Southern Methodist University mustang logo in University Park hasn鈥檛 been removed, and the city said it believes the logo is in compliance.
Communities across the state have responded to Abbott's order in different ways.
The LGBTQ+ community in San Antonio responded to their.
Vedda said many people in Oak Lawn feel the crosswalks were an expression of identity and were upset when they were removed.
鈥淧eople are looking at, 'Okay, well, we can just sit here and be upset, or we can find new ways to express our community,'鈥� Vedda said. 鈥淎nd that's what we're seeing.鈥�
Dylan Duke is 四虎影院's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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