As Americans crowd highways and airports for the peak summer travel season, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced a sweeping national initiative that could put rainbow-painted crosswalks and broader debates over how cities express identity and inclusion squarely in the federal spotlight.
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In a letter on Tuesday, Duffy urged governors nationwide to comply with SAFE ROADS, a new Trump administration program aiming to eliminate “distractions” from non-freeway arterial roads. “Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork,” Duffy wrote.
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Although he conceded that, under the Biden administration, estimated traffic fatalities declined by 3.8 percent in 2024 compared to 2023 levels, Duffy emphasized that the estimated toll of 39,345 deaths remains “unacceptable,” and pressed states to identify hazardous roads within 60 days, with fixes expected by the end of the 2026 fiscal year.
Yet what defines a “distraction” is far from settled. In Alexandria, Virginia, rainbow crosswalks were permanently installed last year after residents called for visible support for the LGBTQ+ community. “I’ve heard from numerous residents who were excited to see Alexandria finally join the list of cities across the nation with this sort of permanent Pride artwork,” Councilman R. Kirk McPike told local outlet The Zebra in 2024.
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The debate over colorful crosswalks goes beyond aesthetics—it touches on centuries of urban design and social meaning. The notion of the crosswalk dates back over 2,000 years to Pompeii, where raised stones allowed pedestrians to cross without stepping into traffic. Modern zebra crossings, first introduced in England in 1951, have become global symbols of pedestrian safety, thanks to their high-contrast stripes, which aid those with low vision in navigating busy streets.
But cities are increasingly experimenting. From 3D optical illusions designed to slow cars to LED-lit pathways triggered by pedestrian motion, the crosswalk has evolved into a canvas of both technology and community identity.
Advocates argue that colorful designs can heighten visibility and foster civic pride. “There are hundreds around the country, if not thousands around the world, and I don’t know of any study that has been able to show that they are actually causing any problems,” urban designer Michael Lydon told The New York Times in 2019. Lyndon has collaborated with cities to develop street art projects for over ten years.
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At the heart of Duffy’s push is a long-running federal insistence on uniformity. The rules of the road are governed by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, a dense guide that dictates everything from the shape of stop signs to the width and color of crosswalk lines.
Federal skepticism about colorful crosswalks is hardly a new phenomenon. A 2013 memo from the Federal Highway Administration warned that “crosswalk art” might degrade the contrast of white markings and give pedestrians a false sense of security. The FHWA concluded that aesthetic treatments, particularly those with retroreflective properties or symbolic designs, risk confusing drivers and are “contrary to the goal of increased safety.” Yet, even the agency has admitted that it lacks direct research showing that rainbow crosswalks cause crashes.
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In 2017, the Federal Highway Administration ordered Lexington, Kentucky, to remove its rainbow-painted crosswalk installed downtown for Pride celebrations, warning it posed a legal liability and could confuse motorists. Yet LGBTQ+ advocates in Lexington pointed out that other cities—including Philadelphia, Boston, and Atlanta—had rainbow crosswalks without apparent problems, the Herald Leader reported.
The Department of Transportation has not provided examples of crashes linked to rainbow crosswalks and did not respond to The Advocate’s questions.
