Austin removes decorative crosswalks and murals after TxDOT rejects exemptions

Austin is taking down a set of decorative crosswalks and street murals after the Texas Department of Transportation rejected part of the city’s request to keep them, turning a state compliance issue into a visible change on streets in downtown Austin, East Austin, and near the University of Texas.

The city memorandum said TxDOT required municipalities to remove non-standard pavement markings and gave Austin a June 22 deadline to submit an action plan. Austin’s response identified specific sites for remediation, including 4th and Colorado, East 11th Street between Waller and Lydia, Guadalupe Street between West 22nd and West 24th, and two traffic circles in East Austin.

What is coming down

Local reporting in late June said Austin planned to remove the rainbow crosswalk downtown, the Black Artists Matter mural on East 11th Street, and the burnt orange “TEXAS” mural on Guadalupe Street near the University of Texas. Axios also reported removal plans for a river-themed crosswalk on Lake Austin Boulevard and artwork at East 22nd and Salina and at East 53rd and Avenue H.

The removals are already underway. On July 2, the Houston Chronicle reported that Austin covered the “TEXAS” mural on Guadalupe Street overnight with gravel and oil after the state rejected the city’s appeal to preserve the artwork. That update showed the work had moved from deadline notices to the street.

Axios reported that most of the targeted artwork is expected to be removed by the end of July. One piece on Lake Austin Boulevard could take longer because it must first go through the city’s public-art deaccession process.

For residents and commuters, the practical effect is straightforward. Familiar street markings are disappearing site by site, and some of the changes are happening in corridors that many people use every day. Downtown workers, nearby business owners, UT students, and East Austin residents may notice shifts in the look and feel of these blocks even where traffic patterns themselves do not change.

For now, Austin is complying with TxDOT’s directive, the June 22 action-plan deadline has passed, and the cleanup is still unfolding across a limited set of targeted locations.

Sources

• City of Austin memorandum on pavement-marking compliance
• Axios Austin report on end-of-July removals
• Houston Chronicle report on the Guadalupe Street TEXAS mural removal