Metal plates installed at Midtown’s rainbow crosswalks provided some relief to residents after back-to-back weekends of street takeovers in which drivers blocked traffic to do doughnuts at the intersection.
On Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, street racers staged overnight “sideshows,” laying drag at the intersection of 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue. Cellphone videos posted to social media showed dozens of spectators blocking off traffic to watch muscle cars do doughnuts in the road, leaving tire burn marks scrawled over the colorful crosswalks installed to recognize the contributions of the city’s LGBTQ community.
The damage left many residents frustrated or hurt because of what the crosswalks represent, though police have said the racers likely targeted the intersection because they were seeking attention, not because they are anti-LGBTQ.
“This is dangerous and the damage is hurtful to our community. A flagrant act of selfishness in a space so important to us all,” the Midtown Neighbors’ Association said at the time, adding a request for people not to share videos of the takeovers on social media as “we understand they do it for the viral notoriety.”
The city’s department of transportation workers cleaned up the tire marks after each weekend, but last week the city installed large metal plates as a preventive measure.
On Monday, Atlanta police said there were no reports of street takeovers at the intersection over the weekend.
Additionally, police officials said last week they had identified several people involved in the illegal events, many of whom are not Atlanta residents.
“(They’re) simply people who drove into our city to conduct their foolishness,” Deputy Chief Carven Tyus said.
Street racing has been an ongoing issue in Atlanta for at least two years. In August 2020, the city approved an ordinance that sets penalties of up to a $1,000 fine or six months in jail for those who attend street racing events, even if they are not driving in them.
Police consider laying drag or doing doughnuts and burnouts as part of street racing, and it falls under a multi-agency attempt to curtail the issue. They have offered a $2,000 reward for anyone with information on the street racers who damaged the crosswalks.
The crosswalks were initially installed temporarily for Atlanta Pride in 2015. They became a permanent fixture in 2017 for the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.
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