Yakima Council to Decide Fate of Rainbow Crosswalks

Yakima City Council members are expected to talk about rainbow crosswalks during the council meeting Tuesday at Yakima City Hall.

the Community Crosswalks program

The council is expected to review the current ordinance that allows non-profit and community groups to apply for permits to paint crosswalks with designs. It's called a "Community Crosswalks" program and it was implemented in 2022 the same time rainbow crosswalks were painted at the intersection of Naches Avenue and Staff Sgt. Pendleton Way.

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THE COUNCIL HAS THREE OPTIONS

Council members Tuesday are expected to talk about three options: Keep the current policy, change the policy or remove it. Removing it is what the Trump administration wants cities to do. In fact cities like Yakima are hearing from the federal government about the painted crosswalks.

A LETTER FROM THE FEDS

Last month the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to all 50 state governors, the mayor of DC, and Puerto Rico's governor, issuing new guidelines tied to the Federal Highway Administration's SAFE ROADS initiative. Duffy says there were more than 39,000 deaths on roadways last year saying that the SAFE ROADS policy keeps roads "free from distractions." He says that includes crosswalk and intersection markings. In the letter Duffy specifically says "Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork."

NICE BUT NOT ALLOWED

Duffy says SAFE ROADS bans rainbow-painted crosswalks, which a number of cities have adopted to push social and political messaging. The Yakima City Council is expected to take action Tuesday. The meeting starts at 5:30 pm at Yakima City Hall. You can be there live or watch the meeting on zoom at yakimawa. gov.