In May, two Lake Nona fourth graders won a Florida Department of Transportation art contest. Their prize: To see their designs painted on bike lanes outside their school.
The colorful images had a short shelf life. This week, Laureate Park Elementary School learned the state has ordered the youngsters’ street art painted over, part of a wide-ranging effort to remove “pavement art” and other roadway markings that Florida officials now say are unsafe.
The state’s new push led to the painting over of the rainbow crosswalk at the former Pulse nightclub in Orlando and has put about 400 more road art projects around Florida on a potential removal list. The Lake Nona kid-designed bike lanes are among 18 in the city of Orlando required to be removed by next week.
“When this came up, I said ‘A