Photo by Natasha Yee
Audio By Carbonatix
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ crusade against “dangerously distracting” street pride displays claimed another casualty Sunday evening when state transportation workers dismantled three Art Deco rainbow crosswalks in Miami Beach.
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) personnel finished removing the three-way crosswalk on 12th Street and Ocean Drive on Monday morning, digging it brick by brick and paving over it with black asphalt. The move comes as FDOT works to remove rainbow crosswalks across the state, including in Delray Beach, Key West, and Orlando.
“Beyond its function, the rainbow crosswalk stands as a visible reminder of Miami Beach’s values of diversity, inclusion, equality, and historic preservation,” Miami Beach City Commissioner Alex Fernandez wrote over the weekend before FDOT removed the crosswalks.
In June, DeSantis signed a bill requiring FDOT to remove any noncompliant street or sidewalk art, which state officials have argued is a safety hazard. Many view the move as a thinly veiled way to target rainbow crosswalks that celebrate LGBTQ Pride. FDOT launched its first attack on South Florida rainbow crosswalks on September 9, when personnel in the dark of night painted over an entire rainbow intersection in Delray Beach.
In an appeal backed by Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach officials argued that FDOT’s Memorandum 25-01 oversteps its authority by functioning as more than just guidance. The cities contend the memo imposes new rules that prohibit certain design elements, mandate their removal, and threaten penalties, such as withholding state funding or allowing FDOT to intervene, even though current law includes no such provisions.
Miami Beach lost its appeal on Saturday, Fernandez announced on Facebook. “While we were hanging these flags today, FDOT arrived on Ocean Drive with heavy equipment and dozens of workers to remove our rainbow crosswalk,” Fernandez wrote in the post. “A total waste of taxpayer dollars to destroy a crosswalk that has proven to be among the safest on Ocean Drive.” Fernandez hasn’t returned New Times‘ requests for comment.
“FDOT’s ruling is heartbreaking for me as someone who has had the privilege of living in a community largely insulated from intolerance and homophobia, until very recently. It is a sobering reminder that our rights were hard-fought by brave leaders and remain vulnerable — they can never be taken for granted,” he wrote in a social media statement.
So far, FDOT has targeted and removed:
- Miami Beach’s “terrazzo pavers” at Ocean Drive and 12th Street
- Fort Lauderdale’s “Progress Pride Walkway” on Sebastian Street between Seabreeze Boulevard and Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard
- Delray Beach’s four-way pride crosswalk at NE First Street and NE Second Avenue
- Key West’s rainbow crosswalks at Duval and Petronia streets
