In a stunning act of political slapstick, Governor Greg Abbott’s crusade against rainbow crosswalks has boomeranged straight into Lubbock’s face—specifically the giant Buddy Holly glasses painted at 18th & Crickets. State officials told Lubbock this week that all decorative crosswalks—yes, even the harmless, nostalgia-soaked, rock-and-roll ones—must be removed to comply with a new “no fun on the roads” directive.
TxDOT clarified that even though Lubbock thought its crosswalks were safe because they weren’t pushing a political, religious, or commercial message, art itself is apparently too spicy for Texas streets. Federal rules call them “distractions,” which, frankly, is rich coming from a state where billboards for personal injury lawyers scream at you every four feet.
City staff broke the news to council members: the Buddy Holly glasses, the Mac Davis Lane art, the Avenue V crosswalk—yep, all toast. They have until Dec. 5 to either remove them or submit a plan to remove them, or else risk losing state and federal road money. Nothing says “small government” quite like the governor threatening to defund cities over sidewalk décor.
City officials sounded hopeful that maybe—someday, somehow—Texas might clarify whether crosswalk art is allowed. But for now? Lubbock will dutifully sandblast Buddy Holly’s memory off the pavement because of a law clearly written to target rainbow crosswalks three states away.
Who knew the biggest threat to Lubbock’s Buddy Holly legacy wasn’t time, redevelopment, or the weather—just the governor trying way too hard to own the libs?
https://www.kcbd.com/2025/11/12/lubbock-must-remove-buddy-holly-art-crosswalks-under-new-state-law/
