ORLANDO, Fla. — What started with the Florida Department of Transportation asking cities to paint over crosswalks has now extended to storm drains. This week, crews used white paint to cover existing art at least three storm drains in the Thornton Park area.
What You Need To Know
- At least four storm drains that were decorated with murals in 2016 were recently painted white by Florida Department of Transportation crews, according to the City of Orlando
- Some of the murals on the storm drains carried the message “Only Rain Down the Drain” and were painted to discourage people from throwing trash and grass clippings in them
- Thornton Park District Main Street Director Robert Soviero said they were done as part of an environmental campaign aimed at keeping storm drains free of debris to ensure proper water flow
- In an email, a city of Orlando spokesperson said the city did not receive prior notice from FDOT about painting the drains
City officials said some of the murals on the storm drains carried the message “Only Rain Down the Drain” and were painted to discourage people from throwing trash and grass clippings in them. It was part of an environmental campaign of the same name aimed at keeping storm drains free of debris to ensure proper water flow.
“We have flooding issues as it is in this historic district, so the campaign was mostly about just keeping water and rain going down the drain and to bring awareness to that. We had artists come and paint murals on the storm drains,” Thornton Park District Main Street Director Robert Soviero said.
The nonprofit raised more than $2,500 to pay artists and cover permitting costs for the murals.
However, after FDOT painted over the drains in white, the artwork has been erased…