Montrose Pride banner district moves closer ahead of August celebrations
Montrose’s proposed Pride banner district advanced at City Hall, with District C set to fund fabrication and CenterPoint approval still pending before August celebrations.
A proposed Pride banner district for Montrose moved closer at Houston City Hall after the rainbow crosswalks at Westheimer and Taft came down.
Supporters want the banners in place before August Pride celebrations and along Metro’s Route 82 corridor through one of the city’s busiest transit routes.
Jack Valinski said moving the project forward mattered because the neighborhood lost the rainbow crossing and wanted something that still showed inclusion. Mayor John Whitmire called Houston a community of inclusion and unity and thanked Valinski for his advocacy, while Council Member Joe Panzarella, whose district includes Montrose, called the banner plan a major step forward for the neighborhood and the broader LGBTQ community.
Final approval from CenterPoint is still needed before installation, so the banners are not guaranteed to go up on the schedule organizers want.
A Lower Westheimer banner district was originally created around 2003 as a Pride-oriented district, then faded from use after the Pride parade moved downtown. In a May 20 video message, Abbie Kamin, Valinski and Pride Houston 365 president Kerry-Ann Morrison revived the idea. The proposed route would run from Taft to Montrose along Lower Westheimer. Kamin said District C would fund fabrication of the banners.
The rainbow crosswalks first went in at Westheimer and Taft in 2017. They were temporarily restored on Oct. 1, 2025 after METRO BOOST road repairs, then removed again on Oct. 20, 2025 after state pressure over roadway markings and federal guidance about political or artistic messages on roads. METRO removed the striping temporarily during the repairs and later restored it while the city reviewed federal guidance.
Kerry-Ann Morrison called the crosswalk a symbol of visibility, safety and belonging for the community, and called its removal a “quiet attempt to erase presence, pride, and progress.” The 2026 Houston Pride parade and festival were moved earlier in the calendar because of the FIFA World Cup schedule, with the parade starting at 7:30 p.m. near Hermann Square and the festival opening at 11 a.m. there.
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