Florida Department of Transportation crackdown on crosswalks, as part of a “statewide standardization of those designs, is forcing Daytona Speedway to remove checkered-flag crosswalks outside the famed motorsports track must be removed, and paw prints outside the Jacksonville Jaguars stadium

Speedway officials confirmed on Tuesday, Aug. 26, that the track has been notified by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) of its intent to repaint the crosswalks as part of a “statewide standardization of those designs.”

The checkered-flag crosswalk art is displayed at an intersection used by hundreds of thousands of NASCAR fans at the annual Daytona 500 in February and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August, not to mention the Rolex 24 endurance race in January.

At a news conference in Tampa on Tuesday, Aug. 26, DeSantis said the state was fully embracing a new policy of wiping asphalt art from streets across the state, regardless of messaging, themes or potential safety benefits.

This issue is connected to the reaction to the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre, in which 49 people were killed in a mass shooting at the popular gay nightclub,  and the controversial overnight removal of a rainbow-hued crosswalk outside the Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando.

https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2025/08/26/checkered-flag-crosswalks-to-be-repainted-in-daytona/85833900007/

It's been a tradition for 33 years in Jacksonville, and organizers said this year more than 400 people took part in the 2018 Painting of the PawPrints.

Families, business leaders and Jaxson de Ville, the Jaguars' mascot, used yellow paint and stencils to brighten the more than 330 paw prints that run along Bay Street from the base of the Main Street Bridge to TIAA Bank Field.

The Painting of the PawPrints began in 1995 as a small downtown project, but has grown into an annual family-friendly event that attracts hundreds of people.

https://www.news4jax.com/community/2018/07/28/hundreds-of-jags-fans-paint-paw-prints-on-bay-street-leading-to-stadium/

The "Painting of the Pawprints" has been a Jacksonville tradition since 1995 when volunteers celebrating another season of Jaguars football have painted bright yellow paws down Bay Street to the football stadium.

That tradition faces possible extinction, however, after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a "back to the basics" approach to traffic control will end the use of any pavement markings whose purpose isn't road safety.

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2025/07/16/jacksonville-pavement-art-faces-uncertainty-after-usdot-mandate/85225920007/