DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Peter Zanoni
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Council District 1
SUBJECT:
Installation of a Rainbow-Themed Crosswalk at Main Avenue
SUMMARY:
On June 16, 2017, Councilmember Roberto Trevino issued a Council Consideration Request (CCR) requesting the creation and installation of a Pride-themed rainbow crosswalk on N. Main Avenue at W. Evergreen Street.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City of San Antonio's annual Pavement Markings Program includes re-striping crosswalks along identified corridors that are scheduled for street maintenance. In addition, the City re-stripes crosswalks around all schools on a three-year cycle.
The combined budget for these infrastructure improvements currently is $2 million annually. The City follows Federal and State traffic control guidelines in its installation of crosswalks.
According to the CCR, the Main Avenue "Strip" has been the center of the LGBT community in San Antonio for several years and has been the site of the annual Pride Parade, also known as "Pride Bigger than Texas". The CCR also stated that the request for a pride themed rainbow crosswalk is to promote a message of inclusion and tolerance while providing pedestrian safety.
On Saturday, July 1, ahead of the "Pride Bigger than Texas" parade, volunteers installed a temporary rainbow-themed Pride Crosswalk using chalk. It was swept off the street the following morning as part of the City's overall cleaning of the parade route. The crosswalk was not subject to vehicular traffic as the intersection was barricaded for the parade.
ISSUE:
As referenced in the attached Governance memo by the Transportation & Capital Improvements Department (TCI), the City Engineer's recommendation is not supportive of installing a rainbow-themed crosswalk at Main Avenue. TCI does not recommend or support any permanent art installation on roadway crosswalks as changes made to crosswalk traffic code standards are believed to cre...
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