NEW: TxDOT denies Austin request to keep certain street art including: • Black Artists...
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Read original at XNEW: TxDOT denies Austin request to keep certain street art including:
• Black Artists Matter mural on 11th • Pride crosswalk at 4th and Colorado • TEXAS mural on Guadalupe • "River" crosswalk on Lake Austin Boulevard
Pics in thread below.
Here's the letter TxDOT sent Austin Transportation and Public Works on Monday, May 18.
A TPW spokesperson confirmed receipt of the letter, but wouldn't release it until staff finished drafting a memo to the Mayor and City Council, expected by Thursday.
https://t.co/P3OcjwhAb0 https://t.co/J7hghYsrue
The Black Artists Matter mural was installed on 11th Street on June 18, 2020 by the city, Capitol View Arts and the Austin Justice Coalition. It was last touched up by the city in 2024.
📷 by KUT's Gabriel C. Pérez https://t.co/c2vqmJ88Ra
The Pride crosswalks at 4th and Colorado streets were installed in late 2021 to commemorate National Coming Out Day.
📷 by KUT's Gabriel C. Pérez https://t.co/m9uJa28q1H
UT Austin's "TEXAS" mural along Guadalupe Street was installed in August 2024 as the Texas Longhorns prepared for their debut in the Southeastern Conference. https://t.co/ttbZIXMjwx
TxDOT says Austin must also remove the "River" crosswalk on the 3700 block of Lake Austin Boulevard, just south of Enfield Road. It was installed in 2016 as part of a creative crosswalk pilot program. https://t.co/Z0DFRU8HjY
This painted intersection at East 22nd Street and Salina was installed in 2015 by the city and the Blackland Community Development Corporation.
TxDOT says it also violates road-marking rules and has to go. https://t.co/WzmK7OW0lA
The sixth piece of street art that must be removed in the near-term under TxDOT's directive is this small traffic circle at 53rd Street and Avenue H.
The city believes it was likely done by local residents without a permit. https://t.co/eX0qmYz121
For three locations, TxDOT says Austin can keep roadway art, "by installing curbing and other improvements."
The first is in North Austin at Joe Sayers Avenue between Ullrich Avenue and Theckla Terrace. It was installed in 2023 on the side of the street. https://t.co/JeUf7Ci9YE
The second roadway art TxDOT says Austin could keep is at Arroyo Seco and Jim Hogg Avenue. But last year, the city said it was slated to be torn up and replaced with a traffic median. https://t.co/ppEXBM2vIK
Three of these these "non-compliant" crosswalks in South Austin were painted along Lamar Square Drive. The city didn't install them.
TxDOT says Austin can keep them if certain improvements are made. I'm guessing that would include curb ramps. https://t.co/xMijoYxV3a
Three more crosswalks were installed in 2024 as part of a Federal Highway Administration safety experiment.
But the city already painted them over in February at the direction of the FHWA, which cited "adverse safety concerns" before the study finished.
TxDOT says three pieces of roadway art can remain until they fade away.
They include "Fairy Alley," installed in 2015 between Treadwell and Dexter streets in the Zilker neighborhood.
This is an old pic. The city says the mural is mostly faded away now. https://t.co/WXejPnHECK
The other two crosswalks TxDOT will allow to fade away were decorated by children in 2017.
The first is at West Wind Trail and West Gate Boulevard. The second is at Cougar Drive and Sahara Drive. https://t.co/x76mykcRaV
TxDOT says the city must submit a "compliance" plan by June 22 or risk losing state and federal funding and/or have agreements with TxDOT suspended.
More in the story, including reaction from an artist who helped paint the Black Artists Matter mural: