The crosswalk near Pulse Aug. 21. (Photo by Bellanee Plaza)
ORLANDO | The rainbow crosswalk installed near Pulse was removed early Aug. 21.
The crosswalk was installed on West Esther St. off South Orange Ave. in the aftermath of the tragedy. It was expected to become a part of the permanent Pulse memorial.
The removal follows a memo released by the Florida Department of Transportation regarding inconsistent “pavement surface markings.” FDOT’s directive has been used to target inclusive crosswalks and street murals throughout the state and was a response to a “safety initiative” from the Trump administration.
“Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared July 2.
Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who represents District 4 where Pulse is located, told Watermark Out News that Mayor Buddy Dyer‘s office alerted her that the crosswalk had been repainted. She was subsequently joined at Pulse by state Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith and state Rep. Anna Eskamani.
“They did not get approval from the city. They just vandalized the site overnight, in the middle of the night, and they did it in the middle of the night because they know what they did was wrong,” Guillermo Smith shared on site.
“The state of Florida, the Florida Department of Transportation, the DeSantis administration … for some reason, wanted to make an example out of this rainbow crosswalk,” he continued. “This rainbow crosswalk that was painted not only to honor the lives of 49 mostly LGBTQ people of color who were murdered here, but also to keep the visitors and the pedestrians safe who have come here year after year to pay their respects.
“I’m in a state of shock that the state would continue to lower and lower and lower, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” he added.
“We followed all of the FDOT regulations and rules when we installed this crosswalk,” Sheehan added. “…My frustration with this process is we’ve done everything properly.”
She also likened the act to “a direct attack,” noting that Florida gave the cities of Key West and Delray Beach “an opportunity to go through an administrative process” for similar installations.
“They denied us that. They just did it in the middle of the night because they could,” Sheehan said. “These are strong arm tactics when you don’t want to follow the Constitution, when you don’t want to follow due process. This is an overreach of government power and government is not supposed to oppress its citizens, government is supposed to serve its citizens. This is community service. This was designed for a memorial, and it was designed for public safety. Period.”
Eskamani echoed this in a press release.
“In the middle of the night, FDOT painted over our rainbow crosswalk at the Pulse Memorial. A place where 49 mostly LGBTQ+ people were murdered. A tragedy that we have worked so hard to find power in pain. A rainbow crosswalk that sparked joy and showed our love for all people,” she said.
“It was never a political statement, and caring about people of all backgrounds is not meant to be a political statement. And, more visible crosswalks help to increase visibility and safety too,” she continued. “But what is political, what is authoritative, and what is disrespectful to the 49 lives murdered and our entire community, is sneaking into the city in the middle of the night to literally erase a rainbow crosswalk that was originally established with FDOT approval!”
The representative, who is also running for mayor of Orlando, also called it a distraction, deflection and destruction.
“It’s also straight-up fascism,” Eskamani concluded. “And we’re not going to let the Governor weaponize state agencies and erase communities without a fight.”
Dyer also condemned the crosswalk’s removal in a statement statement via social media:
We are devastated to learn that overnight the state painted over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk on Orange Avenue. This callous action of hastily removing part of a memorial to what was at the time our nation’s largest mass shooting, without any supporting safety data or discussion, is a cruel political act.
The City of Orlando’s safety crosswalks were all installed in close coordination with the state and adhere to national safety standards. In fact, the crosswalk that is part of the Pulse Memorial was installed by the state.
This crosswalk not only enhanced safety and visibility for the large number of pedestrians visiting the memorial, it also served as a visual reminder of Orlando’s commitment to honor the 49 lives taken.
While the state works to erase the memory of the victims of the Pulse tragedy by painting over the crosswalk, our community’s commitment to honoring the 49, and completing the memorial, will never waver.
Watermark Out News has reached out to FDOT for additional comment and will update this story should it be received. Responding to the crosswalk’s removal in a statement shared via social media, Gov. Ron DeSantis asserted that “We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes.”
Following the news, Equality Florida announced a Rally for Visibility at Pulse, a peaceful protest calling on supporters to show that DeSantis “can’t erase our history, our resilience or our resolve.”
Additional coverage will follow.
