Rainbow crosswalk near Ohio State restored after vandalism incident

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A rainbow-painted crosswalk near Ohio State University was recently vandalized, according to city officials, but has since been cleaned and restored.

The crosswalk, located at the intersection of East Lane and Waldeck avenues, is one of five throughout Columbus installed as part of a traffic safety study led by the Federal Highway Administration. The crosswalks were designed with various patterns and colors to evaluate how different surface markings may influence pedestrian safety.

Randy Borntrager, deputy director of the Columbus Department of Public Service, confirmed to Nexstar’s NBC4 that the crosswalk had been defaced.

“The Department of Public Service agreed to install five crosswalks with different pavement markings as part of an FHWA safety study to determine if various conditions affected public safety,” Borntrager said. “They included two painted crosswalks, one with a painted lattice brick design, and two with other linear bar designs. The one mentioned appears to have been defaced. Department crews worked to remove the graffiti and have restored the crosswalk to working condition.”

City officials were made aware of the vandalism through multiple 311 service reports last week. Though the crosswalk features rainbow-colored stripes, it was not created as an LGBTQ+ Pride symbol, but rather as part of the federal study. Similar test sites have also been implemented in Texas, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.

The incident in Columbus comes shortly after controversy in Florida, where state officials painted over a rainbow crosswalk near the Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando. That crosswalk had been installed to commemorate the 49 lives lost in the 2016 mass shooting at the LGBTQ+ venue.

Columbus officials have not indicated who may have been responsible for the vandalism.