San Marcos removed the decorative crosswalks and curb extensions downtown to comply with a statewide directive on April 22

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) requested the removal, following Gov. Greg Abbott’s guidelines in October 2025, eliminating pavement markings that do not meet the Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (TMUTCD).

According to the regulations, non-standard surface markings, signage and signals that do not directly support traffic control or safety are strictly prohibited, including the symbols, flags or other markings conveying social, political or ideological messages.

Billy Fields, professor of political science, said he worked with sustainability students on extending green alleys, a sustainable alleyway that uses the design and vegetation to manage stormwater and create a public space, last semester as a service learning project.

“One of the things that the students found was that the murals in downtown San Marcos were really fantastic and created a sense of place,” Fields said. “… increasingly what you found is that street murals are a way to help create a place, to slow traffic and to make neighborhoods safer.”

The city requested an exception request to TxDOT for the downtown painted crosswalk and bulb out, or curb extensions in November 2025, however, TxDOT denied the request in April. Failure to comply would result in state or federal funding that supports local projects to be pulled, or agreements between TxDOT and the City be suspended.

The San Antonio Street locations were painted as part of Stelos’ Paint the Path project in May 2025, which partnered with the City, students and the community painting an armadillo named “Dilly”, bluebonnets and bees, one named “Bumbledoor”, turtles named “Claudius” Crush” and “Cutie”, a monarch butterfly, fountain darters and dragonflies.

Four locations were subject to removal: Curb Extensions at CM Allen Parkway between Hopkins Street and University Drive, Curb Extensions at San Antonio Street at Comanche Street, Painted Crosswalk at San Antonio Street at Feltner Alley and Painted Crosswalk at San Antonio Street at Fredericksburg Street.

Madi Roberts, geography urban and regional planning junior, was in the Paint the Path project that helped design the murals and painting. She said there were six murals, four being crosswalks and two bulb out, widened sidewalks, with Michelle Wilson, a local artist designing all of them.

Roberts said she’s upset about the removal because it won awards for the best downtown partner and while she was painting the murals, people would walk by and tell them how amazing it was.

“Obviously the first feeling is it’s really upsetting and defeating because it feels so out of our control,” Roberts said. “Like on every level, because the community was for this. They were happy about it [and] they appreciated it.”

Roberts said it’s been proven in multiple studies that street can make traffic calmer and the street safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

In an attempt to figure out how to prevent the removal, Roberts said she called Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) four times, but the removal happened too quickly to act on.

“It just means so much that collaboration is really at the heart of the project and it’s what brings so many people joy,” Roberts said.

Fields said the student project found that the street murals were a real asset to the city and might be something to think about extending.

“Maybe there’s an opportunity to rethink the murals and add actual green infrastructure, but the green infrastructure’s more expensive and the murals just kind of told that story in a nice, straightforward and easy way,” Fields said.

According to Fields, the small curb bulb-outs on CM Allen Parkway were done as part of a green infrastructure project, and told a story about water and streets that was really valuable to him. The mural sat in front of a water runoff area, where water would be filtered out pollutants through the rocks.

Fields said the murals were moments of joy for him, and taking them away feels like something society shouldn’t be doing.

“Taking them away is resulting from maybe not as deep a look at the literature as it is out there. The literature shows that these are safe and effective,” Fields said. “The ruling seems to not look at that literature in a direct way.”

William Moore, geography urban and regional planning senior, was part of the Paint the Path project and said it was his idea for the fountain darter mural.

“It was really disappointing [seeing them removed]. Both for me and I also felt really upset for the artist, and I also feel like it’s kind of indicative of something larger happening where our government isn’t really focused on the issues that everyday people face,” Moore said.

Moore said the removal is also disheartening, that it’s as if the people in San Marcos aren’t really cared about or listened to as people of Texas.

The city plans on meeting with the people involved in the Paint the Path project to discuss alternative expressive outlets that may be available.