JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville said it plans to comply with the state’s updated requirement to remove colorful pavement art from streets.
The city’s plans come after the Florida Department of Transportation required that cities remove “non-standard surface markings,” which the department said might distract drivers.
The requirement from FDOT came after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked state governors to participate in the “SAFE ROADS” initiative, which stands for “Safe Arterials for Everyone through Reliable Operations and Distraction-Reducing Strategies.”
The city described the change as a “perplexing reversal,” citing a Bloomberg study that revealed a 50% reduction in crashes due to painted streets. However, it stated that it would follow suit with the updated requirements, even though the change would take a toll on taxpayers.
“While the perplexing reversal will be costly to our taxpayers, we will be complying with the state’s request to remove these paintings and working with local artists to recreate them on a different canvas that is on private property and not on a roadway,” a statement from the city read.
Mayor Deegan stressed that while the city is complying with the directive, there are plans to keep the art flowing through Jacksonville.
“We are going to comply because we have to comply,” Deegan said. “We are an inclusive community that wants everybody to feel welcome. We’ll make sure that we talk to some local artists and maybe get some art up on a building nearby that’s private property and not on a public street.”
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The Florida Department of Transportation found six noncompliant locations in Jacksonville:
- The intersection of West of Lomax Street and Oak Street (one crosswalk)
- The intersection of Lomax Street between Park Street and Oak Street (one crosswalk)
- The intersection of Lomax Street and Margaret Street (one crosswalk)
- The intersection of Childrens Way and San Marco Boulevard (all pavement art and crosswalk)
- The intersection of 9th Street W and Pearl Street N (all crosswalks)
- The intersection of Milnor Street near Richard L Brown Elementary School (one crosswalk)
For Zella Wilson, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, losing the rainbow crosswalk in 5 Points hits hard.
“When they painted over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk that just broke my heart,” Wilson said.“Seeing that they’re trying to do it in the city that I actually live in, it kind of feels dehumanizing in a way.
According to the city, the art at the intersection of Childrens Way and San Marco Boulevard cost more than $85,000 to paint.
The city has also moved forward to hire contractors to remove the paintings.
The estimated cost is nearly $22,000 to repaint the roadway art at each other location. That does not include security at each site, the city noted.
Read the city’s full statement below:
A 2022 Bloomberg study found that decorated crosswalks actually made streets safer, showing a 50% drop in pedestrian crashes and big decreases in accidents overall. In fact, these traffic calming measures were once encouraged by the State of Florida.
While the perplexing reversal will be costly to our taxpayers, we will be complying with the state’s request to remove these paintings and working with local artists to recreate them on a different canvas that is on private property and not on a roadway. In Jacksonville, we welcome everyone and believe that public art beautifies the city while driving economic development.”
Public Works will hire contractors to remove the road paintings. We do not know the costs or have a schedule yet.
City of Jacksonville
If the city fails to comply, FDOT said it would withhold state funds.
All locations must be removed by Thursday, Sept. 4.
Jacksonville Councilman Jimmy Peluso said he was disappointed in a statement to News4JAX.
“It’s a disappointment that some of the people who were elected to the highest offices in our state and federal government have determined this is a priority,” he wrote. “It’s a shame and it’s weak leadership. But hey, if beautification on our streets and pride in our communities are something the government is so interested in fighting, I guess that means they’ve abandoned fixing property insurance and keeping people in their homes. Talk about not having your priorities in order.”