Crosswalk Crackdown or Liberty Erosion? DeSantis’ New Law Sparks $85,000 Bill for Orlando
Written by Peter Boykin on August 29, 2025
Crosswalk Crackdown or Liberty Erosion? DeSantis’ New Law Sparks $85,000 Bill for Orlando
#GoRightNews Shared by Peter Boykin
American Political Commentator / Citizen Journalist / Activist / Constitutionalist for Liberty
Crosswalk Crackdown or Liberty Erosion? DeSantis’ New Law Sparks $85,000 Bill for Orlando
Orlando’s rainbow crosswalk at the Pulse nightclub, approved back in 2017 to honor the 49 lives lost, was scrubbed away overnight. What followed was a political firestorm about whether Gov. Ron DeSantis is enforcing law, or simply enforcing bland uniformity at the expense of local communities.
According to WKMG News 6, DeSantis defended the removal by pointing to Senate Bill 1662, a law he signed in June that requires local governments to follow Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) policies. Those policies were updated in late June to ban “non-uniform traffic control devices,” which includes painted crosswalk art. DeSantis told reporters, “The legislature passed a change in law recently which said there’s no street art allowed… this has been addressed statewide”
But Democratic State Rep. Anna Eskamani called his explanation misleading. She clarified that what happened was a rule change, not a piece of new legislation, and that FDOT’s update to the Green Book is different from Florida law. “A rule change is not the same as a law, and rules can change very quickly.”
The distinction matters. While DeSantis claims the crackdown is about traffic safety, FDOT itself approved the Pulse crosswalk back in 2017. Now, Orlando has been forced to hire contractors to erase multiple crosswalks deemed “non-compliant,” at a cost of about $85,000, money the state will not reimburse.
The backlash has only grown. Daytona International Speedway’s iconic checkered-flag crosswalks are being repainted plain.
Seminole County’s green crosswalks have already gone black. And elementary school crosswalk art in Brevard was ripped out despite local support.
This is bigger than rainbows. SB 1662 authorizes the state to withhold transportation funding if local jurisdictions don’t comply. In short, cities like Orlando are being forced to erase symbols their communities built and paid for or risk losing critical dollars for buses, roads, and infrastructure.
Constitutional Clash:
State vs. Local Control
At the heart of this is a classic battle between state power and local liberty. Florida statute 316.0745 actually gives FDOT the authority to permit “non-uniform traffic control devices… upon showing of good cause.” In other words, the state could legally allow crosswalk art. Instead, FDOT chose to prohibit it, and DeSantis signed off.
So the question isn’t whether crosswalk art can exist. It’s whether the state wants it to. And right now, the state has decided to strip away the colors, culture, and memorials of its communities in favor of gray uniformity.
DeSantis’ $85,000 Paint Job: Is Florida Erasing Liberty in the Name of Safety?
#GoRight with Peter Boykin Commentary:
Is Blandness Liberty?
As the founder of Gays For Trump and a Constitutionalist for Liberty, I have to call this what it is: government overreach.
Conservatives cheer when DeSantis says he’s fighting woke, but let’s be honest, this isn’t fighting woke, it’s fighting visibility. Communities like Orlando raised their own money to install these crosswalks. Taxpayers weren’t forced to fund them. FDOT itself approved them years ago. They didn’t suddenly become unsafe. The only thing that changed was politics.
And it’s not just FDOT policy, it was the Florida legislature that made this rule change. DeSantis signed off on it. He had the opportunity to ask for input before approving a rule that would affect communities statewide. The true nature of the change was to eliminate rainbow crosswalks, and everything else, checkered racing stripes, school safety murals, community art, is collateral damage. This is a case of creating a rule, ignoring the people, enforcing removals, and then pointing to the justification of “just following the rules.” But when you are the one who pushed for the rule, you cannot wash your hands of responsibility.
And here’s the kicker, studies prove FDOT is wrong. Bloomberg’s Asphalt Art Safety Study showed painted intersections reduced crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists by nearly 50 percent. Injury crashes fell by 37 percent, and driver yielding went up 27 percent. If the real issue was safety, the state would encourage more colorful, visible crossings, not fewer.
Instead, Orlando now owes $85,000 to erase what its citizens built. DeSantis claims he funded a Pulse memorial, but scrubbing away the crosswalk overnight sent a message louder than any memorial check could write: your community expression does not matter when the state says otherwise.
This is not about rainbows, checkered flags, or green crosswalks. It’s about liberty versus control. Local governments and communities should decide how to honor their dead, celebrate their culture, and beautify their streets. The state has no business painting over liberty with dull gray.
Call to Action
If conservatives could rally to stop Cracker Barrel from blanding its logo, we can rally to stop the state from blanding our streets. Don’t let party loyalty blind you to government abuse.
Contact your legislators. Demand that FDOT base policy on evidence, not politics. Defend your community’s right to self-expression. Because if we stay silent, the gray paintbrush won’t stop at rainbow crosswalks, it will roll over every symbol of local liberty we hold dear.
Additional Sources:
[WKMG News 6]
[Florida Senate – SB 1662](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2025/1662)
[Florida Statutes 316.0745](https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2025/316.0745)
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