Say goodbye to street art in the Tampa Bay area
By Meghan Bowman
August 29, 2025 at 2:44 PM EDT
Florida is cracking down on street art. Tampa and St. Petersburg have until Sept. 4 to remove it all. Gov. Ron DeSantis calls it a safety hazard, but others don't buy it.
Rainbow-painted crosswalks will soon be a thing of the past in Florida.
The state Department of Transportation calls them a safety issue, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the streets should not be used for political messages.
https://x.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1958583393714667572
In Tampa, the city government has decided to eliminate all its street art, including one honoring police.
Rebecca Hessinger is a community planner for Hillsborough County. She visited the blue, black, and white mural outside Tampa’s downtown police station to take a picture of it before it disappears.
The "Back the Blue" mural was painted in downtown Tampa on Aug. 1, 2020. Now it will soon be gone. (2048x1471, AR: 1.3922501699524132)
She disagrees with the state's decision to remove it.
“It just is stupid. Why would you do that? It doesn't harm the traffic," Hessinger said. "The traffic can figure this out.”
In the next week, it’ll be gone. Along with around 400 others across Florida.
Tampa resident J.J. Irish walks by the mural nearly every day on his lunch break.
“I think it's more than just the colors and the (Department of Transportation) safety," he said. "It means more to the community. So in my opinion, it's kind of B-S.”
Local governments push back
The Florida Department of Transportation sent a letter to cities across the state in early July. It said to get rid of any permanent street art with political, social, or ideological messaging must be removed within 60 days, or risk losing government funding.
Some communities, like St. Petersburg, pushed back.
They sent the state records showing that traffic accidents decreased at one of the installations. The state denied the city any exemptions.
And on Friday, state officials began painting over a geographic and marine-themed mural that has graced one of the main intersections on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus for more than two years.
On Aug. 29, 2025, state officials began painting over a geographic and marine-themed mural that has graced one of the main intersections on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus for more than two years. (2000x1125, AR: 1.7777777777777777)
ALSO READ: St. Petersburg's mayor says removal of street murals is not an 'isolated act'
In Orlando last week, under the cover of darkness, transportation officials removed a rainbow crosswalk honoring 49 victims of the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub.
The next day, people and politicians re-colored the asphalt with paint and chalk. Crews returned the next day and removed it.
Orlando Rep. Anna Eskamani went live on Facebook last week, calling the move offensive.
“It’s so dumb. I mean, it’s like, don’t you have something better to do? We have potholes. We have accidents," she said. "We have problems as it pertains to actual transportation, and this is what you spend your time doing?”
The rainbow crosswalk in Orlando was a memorial to the 49 victims of a 2016 mass shooting at Pulse nightclub. In August, crews came in overnight with no notice and removed the paint. (1280x720, AR: 1.7777777777777777)
But people kept showing up to recolor the crosswalk with chalk, even while the rain washed it away. Now, law enforcement stands guard to prevent them from coloring it in again.
Another video shared on social media by Eskamani shows crews hosing off the chalk.
Officials say municipalities must comply
DeSantis said the law he signed in June is meant to prohibit "non-standard" and "aesthetic treatments" on public roadways, intersections, crosswalks, and sidewalks. He added municipalities must comply.
“I understand there may be people who disagree with it," he said. "I mean, you know, there's laws that are on the books that I enforce that I may not fully agree with, but I took an oath to do it. And so that's the way the cookie crumbles.”
DeSantis said the state's roads are for "pedestrians to cross or cars to go," and that Florida will not allow roads to be “commandeered” for messaging.
ALSO READ: Why Florida is banning street art with political, social or ideological messaging
Another victim of the street art sweep in Tampa is murals in crosswalks around schools. Some of them received state awards four years ago for innovation in traffic calming and improved safety.
But county planner Rebecca Hessinger said the painted installations serve a bigger purpose.
“We have crosswalks at elementary schools that are painted bright to make sure traffic knows there's something different (there and they) need to slow down. It boggles the mind," she said. "I don't get it."
A 2022 national study on asphalt art safety by Bloomberg Philanthropies found a 50% drop in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists and an increase of 27% in drivers yielding to pedestrians at installations.
A Tampa spokesperson said crews began removing art from 47 sites this week.
Want to join the conversation or share your story? Email Meghan at bowman4@wusf.org.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The state Department of Transportation calls them a safety issue, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the streets should not be used for political messages.
https://x.com/GovRonDeSantis/status/1958583393714667572
In Tampa, the city government has decided to eliminate all its street art, including one honoring police.
Rebecca Hessinger is a community planner for Hillsborough County. She visited the blue, black, and white mural outside Tampa’s downtown police station to take a picture of it before it disappears.
The "Back the Blue" mural was painted in downtown Tampa on Aug. 1, 2020. Now it will soon be gone. (2048x1471, AR: 1.3922501699524132)
She disagrees with the state's decision to remove it.
“It just is stupid. Why would you do that? It doesn't harm the traffic," Hessinger said. "The traffic can figure this out.”
In the next week, it’ll be gone. Along with around 400 others across Florida.
Tampa resident J.J. Irish walks by the mural nearly every day on his lunch break.
“I think it's more than just the colors and the (Department of Transportation) safety," he said. "It means more to the community. So in my opinion, it's kind of B-S.”
Local governments push back
The Florida Department of Transportation sent a letter to cities across the state in early July. It said to get rid of any permanent street art with political, social, or ideological messaging must be removed within 60 days, or risk losing government funding.
Some communities, like St. Petersburg, pushed back.
They sent the state records showing that traffic accidents decreased at one of the installations. The state denied the city any exemptions.
And on Friday, state officials began painting over a geographic and marine-themed mural that has graced one of the main intersections on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus for more than two years.
On Aug. 29, 2025, state officials began painting over a geographic and marine-themed mural that has graced one of the main intersections on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus for more than two years. (2000x1125, AR: 1.7777777777777777)
ALSO READ: St. Petersburg's mayor says removal of street murals is not an 'isolated act'
In Orlando last week, under the cover of darkness, transportation officials removed a rainbow crosswalk honoring 49 victims of the 2016 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub.
The next day, people and politicians re-colored the asphalt with paint and chalk. Crews returned the next day and removed it.
Orlando Rep. Anna Eskamani went live on Facebook last week, calling the move offensive.
“It’s so dumb. I mean, it’s like, don’t you have something better to do? We have potholes. We have accidents," she said. "We have problems as it pertains to actual transportation, and this is what you spend your time doing?”
The rainbow crosswalk in Orlando was a memorial to the 49 victims of a 2016 mass shooting at Pulse nightclub. In August, crews came in overnight with no notice and removed the paint. (1280x720, AR: 1.7777777777777777)
But people kept showing up to recolor the crosswalk with chalk, even while the rain washed it away. Now, law enforcement stands guard to prevent them from coloring it in again.
Another video shared on social media by Eskamani shows crews hosing off the chalk.
Officials say municipalities must comply
DeSantis said the law he signed in June is meant to prohibit "non-standard" and "aesthetic treatments" on public roadways, intersections, crosswalks, and sidewalks. He added municipalities must comply.
“I understand there may be people who disagree with it," he said. "I mean, you know, there's laws that are on the books that I enforce that I may not fully agree with, but I took an oath to do it. And so that's the way the cookie crumbles.”
DeSantis said the state's roads are for "pedestrians to cross or cars to go," and that Florida will not allow roads to be “commandeered” for messaging.
ALSO READ: Why Florida is banning street art with political, social or ideological messaging
Another victim of the street art sweep in Tampa is murals in crosswalks around schools. Some of them received state awards four years ago for innovation in traffic calming and improved safety.
But county planner Rebecca Hessinger said the painted installations serve a bigger purpose.
“We have crosswalks at elementary schools that are painted bright to make sure traffic knows there's something different (there and they) need to slow down. It boggles the mind," she said. "I don't get it."
A 2022 national study on asphalt art safety by Bloomberg Philanthropies found a 50% drop in crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists and an increase of 27% in drivers yielding to pedestrians at installations.
A Tampa spokesperson said crews began removing art from 47 sites this week.
Want to join the conversation or share your story? Email Meghan at bowman4@wusf.org.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.