(This story was updated to add new information and a photo and because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)
Correction: A previous version of the story misstated the cost to paint over the downtown traffic cabinets.
At least three of Corpus Christi’s more colorful, artistic crosswalks will be removed following a state order.
In an Oct. 23 memo, City Manager Peter Zanoni wrote that complying with federal and state instructions will mean removing specific crosswalks, to include those at Six Points, at Twigg Street and Shoreline Boulevard, and on the Peoples Street T-Head.
The designs include a bright white-and-blue array reminiscent of the bay, and a blue-and-green tribute to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had announced in an Oct. 8 news release that the Texas Department of Transportation was “to ensure counties and cities are in compliance with federal and state guidelines regarding roadway safety.”
State and federal guidelines prohibit “non-standard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly support traffic control or safety,” the news release states, to include “the use of symbols, flags, or other markings conveying social, political, or ideological messages.”
City officials have a 30-day window to remove the identified crosswalks, Zanoni wrote in the memo, noting that “failure to comply could result in the withholding or denial of state and federal funding.”
In addition to the three crosswalk locations, 25 painted downtown traffic cabinets — the metal boxes that house equipment for traffic control — are also considered to be noncompliant, according to officials.
The city’s planned removal and modification of the creatively colored infrastructure mirrors actions of other municipalities in the state, where officials have similarly removed pavement markings considered noncompliant — the most publicized likely being the removal of a rainbow crosswalk in Houston.
The crosswalks and the art
In Corpus Christi, the Six Points pedestrian crosswalks feature blue-and-white pavers, a color pattern intended to symbolize the city’s bayfront, according to previous Caller-Times reporting.
In part, the design selection was based on feedback from local businesses, according to a news release issued by the city in January 2022.
It was a first for Corpus Christi, the email states.
Former City Council member Ben Molina, who had been supportive of the project during his term, described the crosswalks’ impending removal as disappointing.
Officials had worked to improve and revitalize the area and make it “more appealing in an effort to encourage investment,” he said.
“At that time there were several vacant properties,” Molina said. “A lot of those vacant properties now house different organizations and businesses. I’d like to think that beautifying the area helped to encourage that.”
Sylvia Campos, who currently represents the Six Points area on the City Council, said the requirement that the city remove the crosswalks was “petty and unnecessary.”
“Cities have a right to self-expression,” she wrote in a message to the Caller-Times. “I know this crosswalk does not cross any political boundaries.”
The crosswalk at the Shoreline Boulevard and Twigg Street intersection — also completed in 2022 — had included a design intended as a nod to the city and A&M-Corpus Christi’s relationship, featuring “blue and green Islanders branding colors,” according to a news release issued by the city that year.
In the 2022 news release, university President Kelly Miller said the city’s choice “not only helps to highlight that the University has added a location in the downtown area, but it also is a testament to the collaboration and partnership between the University and the City.”
On Oct. 24, university officials responded to a question about the upcoming removal with a written statement sent by spokeswoman Luisa Buttler.
“Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is committed to following all laws and regulations of the State of Texas,” the email stated. “We value our ongoing partnership with the City of Corpus Christi and will continue to work collaboratively on projects that enhance our community and strengthen the university’s connection to the downtown area.”
Learning that the traffic cabinets would be painted over was devastating and shocking, said Arlene Medrano, Corpus Christi Downtown Management District executive director.
The program that commissioned artists for their work on the traffic cabinets has existed for at least 10 years and was approved by the city, she said.
“It was to bring beauty and art and vibrancy into our downtown, and it really has done that,” Medrano said. “Prior to that … (they were) just big silver industrial-looking boxes on the sidewalk.”
Local removals and repainting are expected to begin Oct. 27, Zanoni wrote in a message to the Caller-Times.
Altogether, the original installation and upcoming removal of the crosswalks is estimated to total about $35,000, Zanoni wrote, while painting over the traffic cabinets will cost $500 total.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Here are Corpus Christi’s painted crosswalks that will be removed under governor’s order
Reporting by Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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