By Rafael Hernandez
The once-vivid crosswalk in front of Coral Gables City Hall—painted in geometric bands of green, blue, red, and yellow—is now a muted stretch of asphalt gray.
Induction Chromatique, a work by late Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Diez, was originally commissioned during Art Basel in 2017 and later purchased by the city’s Art in Public Places program for $180,000. The agreement included an $18,000 annual maintenance payment to the Cruz-Diez Art Foundation.
In late August, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) ordered the artwork removed, citing a new state law requiring the elimination of all “non-standard surface markings” on state roads. The law took this summer.
The directive has prompted the removal of rainbow-themed crosswalks across the state—from Key West to Orlando—including one outside the Pulse nightclub. In Coral Gables, the Cruz-Diez crosswalk was quietly painted over in gray, without ceremony or protest.
“The city of Coral Gables did not make the decision to remove this artwork,” city officials told Local 10 in a written statement. “FDOT informed us that, under a new state law that went into effect on July 1, 2025, all non-standard crosswalk markings on state roads must be removed.”
FDOT warned municipalities that failure to comply could result in the loss of transportation funding.
Commissioner Melissa Castro said the city had no meaningful alternative.
“They kind of gave us a heads up…but they just did it,” she told WLRN. “FDOT carried out the work to bring the roadway into compliance. It was out of our jurisdiction.”
Castro also noted that the city had already stopped paying the maintenance fee to the Cruz-Diez foundation after losing contact with the organization. The artwork had begun to fade before the state stepped in.
Quiet compliance
The city’s approach contrasts with that of other Florida municipalities. Miami Beach and Fort Lauderdale have resisted similar removal orders for their rainbow-painted crossings. In Coral Gables, no such resistance emerged. The artwork disappeared quietly.
Public opinion remains mixed.
“It just brought a little color to the street. Now everything there is gray and sad looking,” said Tyler Meyer, a resident who responded to a recent WLRN poll. “It’s nuts that anyone cares about it to the point where the state government gets involved.”
Others welcomed the change.
“From the very beginning when this was proposed and voted for, I was not happy,” said longtime resident and retired educator Maria Cruz. “If I had known FDOT was coming to remove it, I would’ve been standing there cheering them.”
The crosswalk had become a recognizable landmark for pedestrians along Le Jeune Road, directly in front of City Hall. Though its origin was tied to abstract art rather than any specific political cause, its bold color and prominent placement had made it a rare visual departure from Coral Gables’ otherwise conservative civic design.
Broader implications
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) defended the uniform enforcement of the new statute during a press conference.
“This has been addressed statewide, on any issue under the sun,” he said during a meeting. “They’re doing it uniformly throughout the state.”
The law reflects a growing trend of state preemption, in which decisions about cultural symbols, zoning, and even environmental policy are increasingly removed from the hands of local governments. While many of the affected crosswalks celebrated LGBTQ+ communities, the Cruz-Diez artwork was framed from the start as a modernist homage to international artistic traditions.
With the removal complete, the stretch of Le Jeune Road once marked by kinetic color has returned to asphalt uniformity—another reminder that what gets painted in public space can be as political as what gets erased.
This Post Has 8 Comments
A waste of money from day one. Elitists spend while Ponce between Miracle mile and the trail is pothole heaven.
Public art should be a celebration for the public, involving all segments of the public in the decision as to what should be on display and what art can stimulate and be appreciated.
I would venture that 10,000x more people “drove” over that tax-funded artwork … more or less unaware … than walked across it and then paused to contemplate it. I hardly call that money well-spent by almost any measure. Depending on your perspective, current enforcement of the law has become either political, or an attempt to remove politics from displays. You be the judge. Lastly, as an almost 50-year Gables resident AND motorcyclist who rides regularly and often in inclement weather, I can tell you that the crosswalk became dangerously treacherous in the rain even when riding carefully. I’ll miss the color, but I’m happy that surface is gone.
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This was ridiculous from the get-go, not to mention expensive!! I support Gay rights, but we shouldn’t deface our city streets or fly any other flag than the American flag in any government building.
This is just another example of the current Florida government’s intolerance for anything its funders, supporters or lackeys dislike. Whether local regulation of plastic bags, styrofoam, straws or zoning, the Republican majority in Tallahassee has abandoned local control and home rule. The innocuous stated reason for re-standardizing crosswalks is necessary uniformity in traffic and pedestrian safety measures. The unstated, and likely real, reason is to remove anything possibly celebrating or memorializing the Pulse tragedy or solidarity with a segment of the population the Republican Party sees as a political enemy. While we need uniform traffic and pedestrian safety regulations, don’t think for a second that is why crosswalks are literally being whitewashed. This is about political retribution, not standardization.
The Republican majority only believes in local control that suits its more-nefarious purposes (sating donors and “The Base,” retribution, generally maintaining power at others’ expense, et al.). Democrats were no different when they controlled Florida, and they will do it again when they regain power. What goes around comes around. Just look at current Republican-led cancel culture; the Democratic Party, which so foolishly allowed itself to be led by the nose by “progressive” cancel culture, is getting its comeuppance. But two wrongs don’t make a right.
The bigger question, however, is whether we are Floridians and Americans or Republicans and Democrats? Maybe Trump should have renamed it the “Gulf of Republicans” rather than the “Gulf of America.” As stupid as that sounds, it makes more sense in today’s political climate, as he and his fellow Republican political elite govern only for supporters, donors, and funders, and have disregarded, if not shown utter contempt for, the 77+ million Americans who did not vote for Trump in 2024 or the 3+ million Floridians who did not vote for DeSantis in 2022. Again, don’t misunderstand; Democrats are equally bad when in power.
I don’t want to overstate the import of the decision to do away with multi-colored crosswalks, but the real motivation behind it matters because of the contempt it shows for our fellow Floridians who are, just like all of us, human beings. The Framers of our Constitution and Founders of our republic warned of the dangers of partisanship and factionalism. Washington’s Farewell Address, issued contemporaneously with his decision to voluntarily abandon political power and quit the presidency after two terms, is just one example of these warnings. Unfortunately, however, we have not listened, instead retreating to our respective corners and only coming out to literally fight to the death those whom our Republican and Democratic overlords selfishly label “Enemies of the People.”
“We the People” have been, and continue to be, duped by the political classes, elites, billionaires and others who profit, pillage, rape and steal while we blindly allow ourselves to be divided by “R,” “D” and other letters. I would counsel my fellow Floridians and Americans that our real enemy is not those memorialized by multi-colored sidewalks or other symbolic displays, but rather those who profit the most from the conflict and disunion they foment among us.
Well said
Thanks, man.
If I remember correctly, the initial cost was $150,000 yearly. It would be interesting to find out how much it was costing now. I believe this money can be spent on other urgent needs.
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