Downtown Wichita Falls, like several cities throughout the country, are about to get some work done.

Over the weekend, I saw a story going viral for our friends over in Lubbock. As you may know, Lubbock is the hometown for the legendary Buddy Holly. They have several places around town honoring the famous musician, including a crosswalk. Turns out due to the Department of Transportation, that has to be removed.

Lubbock's Buddy Holly Crosswalk to Be Removed

As you can see the musician's iconic glasses adorn this crosswalk in his hometown. Over the summer, Department of Transportation secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to all 50 governors telling them to remove all distractions from crosswalks. You can read the full letter here, but here is the important part.

Portion of Sean Duffy's Letter to All US Governors

The SAFE ROADS national initiative will focus on the non-freeway arterials within your State, including safety and operation at intersections and along segments, consistent and recognizable traffic control devices including crosswalk and intersection markings, and orderly use of the right‑of‑way that is kept free from distractions.

Essentially, nothing should be in your crosswalk besides the nationally recognized crosswalk markings. Many thought this meant political messages or pride messages are what they talked about being removed. No, it is anything distracting within a crosswalk.

What Happens to the Seventh Street Crosswalks in Downtown Wichita Falls?

On Seventh Street in downtown Wichita Falls. Two intersections have been painted with different murals. I reached out to artist David Fowler on Facebook who painted the keyboard crosswalk seen above back in 2019. I asked if he was aware of any changes coming to his crosswalk he did a few years ago. I shared with him the story out of Lubbock and he was unaware of this new policy.

Downtown Wichita Falls Development RADIO SILENT on This Issue

Downtown Wichita Falls Development has been ignoring my requests for a comment. I have reached out several times in the past three days and they have a lovely Artificial Intelligence answering service, which I might as well just go f*** myself every time I call it. Everyone in the city is telling me they installed it and they're who I need to talk to.

So who is now responsible for removing it? According to Secretary Duffy's letter, the states have until the end of the year to remove all art from their crosswalks. Will Wichita Falls be in compliance by 2026?