Orlando city crews began painting over 14 decorative crosswalks throughout the city on Wednesday morning, complying with state orders to remove the colorful street art that featured citrus slices, swans, and the iconic Lake Eola fountain. However, the city plans to request a special exception from the state to preserve the rainbow crosswalk near the Pulse nightclub, which serves as a memorial to the 49 victims killed in the 2016 shooting.
The state-mandated removal project is expected to take several days and will affect crosswalks in various areas including downtown Orlando, Corinne Drive, Thornton Park near Lake Eola, and the SoDo district. The decision comes after Chief Administrative Officer FJ Flynn received a letter from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) requiring 18 different markings and murals to be covered up under new state regulations.
Artist Justin Skipper, who goes by the professional name SKIP, designed and painted 15 crosswalks and murals on downtown pavement through his company, A Pivotal Character Artworks. The project had received grant funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of a beautification initiative. "My main frustration comes from the authoritarian tactics of the DeSantis administration, using this as a bully with a stick in order to be able to punish people who do not fall into political alignment with his party," Skipper said.
Skipper emphasized that his artwork was not politically motivated but rather focused on community enhancement. "I think those murals are wonderful," he said. "Not based on some sort of political or artistic message, but for a beautification project and being able to provide a colorful aesthetic and palette and to make people's day-to-day interaction with their city a little bit more attractive and romantic."
Mayor Buddy Dyer acknowledged that the city faced long odds in appealing the removal of the 14 decorative crosswalks but expressed hope that the rainbow tribute to Pulse victims might receive special consideration. "I think we see the writing on the wall," he said. "We know where those will be headed. And for us, the most important one is Pulse." As of Wednesday, the appeal letter had not yet been sent to FDOT, so the timeline for a decision remained unclear.
Governor Ron DeSantis defended the new policy on Tuesday, stating that the rules would be applied uniformly across all types of street art. "The Florida legislature passed a law that was very clear – we're not doing the commandeering of the roads to put up messaging," he said, adding that the policy would affect everything from rainbow designs to pro-police "Back The Blue" murals in Tampa. DeSantis emphasized that the removal has "been done across the state and it's been regardless of the messaging that's been used."
Rather than wait for state crews to handle the removal, Orlando opted to cover up the artwork itself at a cost of approximately $85,000. The city issued a traffic advisory early Wednesday morning, alerting drivers that crews would be working between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the 14 crosswalks until the removal process was complete. City officials determined that four other areas flagged by FDOT were actually on state roads and therefore outside the city's jurisdiction.
The targeted crosswalks had originally been implemented as part of Orlando's investment in pedestrian and cyclist safety. Orlando, located in one of the nation's deadliest metropolitan areas for pedestrians, had embraced decorative crosswalks as a safety feature designed to draw attention and increase visibility. The city pointed to studies showing that areas with asphalt art experience fewer pedestrian crashes and higher rates of drivers yielding to people crossing streets.
The state had already taken action on the city's most famous decorative crosswalk – the rainbow design on Orange Avenue at Esther Street near the former Pulse nightclub. An FDOT crew painted over the rainbow memorial just before midnight on Thursday. When protesters repainted the rainbow design, state workers returned on Saturday night to cover it again.
Despite the state orders, Orlando remains committed to creating safe environments for all road users. The city's traffic advisory stated that while the decorative treatments must be replaced with traditional pavement markings per state orders, the city would continue working to protect pedestrians, cyclists, and other roadway users. The removal of these artistic crosswalks represents a significant change for a city that had used creative street art as both a beautification tool and a safety enhancement measure.
