Pride SA and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum joined forces to try and stop the city from removing the crosswalks and installing rainbow sidewalks.
SAN ANTONIO — Pride San Antonio and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum were dealt a legal blow in court Friday when a Bexar County judge rejected the groups’ joint bid for an injunction related to changes in the Pride Cultural Heritage District.
The groups filed an eleventh-hour lawsuit Thursday afternoon in an effort to halt removal of the rainbow crosswalks as well as prevent this week’s installation of rainbow sidewalks along four blocks of North Main Avenue.
The judge ultimately said their arguments weren’t enough.
Both projects are expected to cost about $170,000 in Public Works dollars, according to city officials, who previously said a City Council vote on the matter was not needed. The lawsuit argued that allocation of money without a public discussion amounted to an “unlawful expenditure of unappropriated public funds.”
City attorneys argued in a Friday hearing that the request for a temporary restraining order didn’t have merit, saying there was no legal for the matter to go before San Antonio City Council.
Justin Nichols, the attorney who represents both Pride SA and the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum (TCLF) on the matter, pushed for a pause as he argued the decision about the rainbow crosswalks and sidewalks was a political call, not a Public Works call. Nichols said the two organizations joined forces to save on filing fees and time.
Nichols said Pride SA’s aim is to preserve the crosswalks feature, while the TCLF was concerned about public money being wasted.
The city’s plans for crosswalk removal and sidewalk installation stem from Gov. Greg Abbott’s October directive that Texas roads remove political and ideological markings from roads, lest they risk losing out on federal and state funds.
The original plan was for sidewalks on both sides of North Main between Park Avenue and Laurel Street to be painted with rainbow striping by the end of this week. City Manager Erik Walsh notified city leaders in a Thursday memo that those plans were on hold amid the legal action. It’s unclear at this point when work to prepare the sidewalks will resume.
The rainbow crosswalks, which have been in place since 2018, are still on track to be removed by the end of next week, according to Walsh’s memo to City Council and the mayor.
This is a developing story.