One South Florida city is defying the Florida Department of Transportation when it comes to a crosswalk that's dedicated to the LGBTQ community.
While other Palm Beach County cities like Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach have removed their painted murals from roadways, Delray Beach has decided to keep its intersection painted as a rainbow.
FDOT recently issued a statewide directive, urging cities to remove any artwork from roads, threatening to withhold funding. But Delray Beach Vice Mayor Rob Long and others on the City Commission say the mural is on a city-owned street.
Transportation officials cite safety concerns, but Long says the directive was political. But he admits that if the city is sent a "formal enforcement notice," they will have no choice but to comply.
Long, a Democrat, recently jumped in the race to fill a Florida House seat left vacant by the death of State Representative Joe Casello.
The Delray Beach crosswalk has been vandalized three times, including most recently when the driver of a pickup truck performed "burn-outs" on it. Two people have been charged and sentenced in the first two cases.