A city in Iowa is refusing to comply
with a Trump administration request to remove its rainbow-colored
crosswalks.
Ames installed four of these crosswalks
at a downtown intersection. One of the crosswalks features the gender
non-binary flag's colors (purple, black, yellow, and white), while
another uses the colors of the transgender Pride flag (blue, white,
and pink).
In a letter dated September 5, the
Federal Highway Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of
Transportation, asked Ames City Manager Steve Schainker to remove the
crosswalks, CNN
reported.
The federal government said that the
crosswalks are unsafe and violate federal traffic control
regulations.
“Crosswalk art has a potential to
compromise pedestrian and motorist safety by interfering with,
detracting from, or obstructing official traffic control devices,”
the letter stated.
Officials in Ames said that the federal
government does not have jurisdiction over its crosswalks and decided
to ignore the request.