JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The Acosta Bridge has Pride! The bridge is lit up in rainbow colors for Pride month showing support for our LGBTQ+ community.
In 2021, the Florida Department of Transportation angered the LGBTQ+ community when they ordered the Pride lights off.
FDOT said there was a compliance issue, but it was upsetting to the LGBTQ community who felt like it was an attack against them. An e-mail obtained by First Coast News from FDOT said the department received numerous complaints about the lights and told JTA to got back to the permitted scheme.
From June 6th to June 10th, the bridge will stay rainbow overnight and there shouldn’t be a reason to turn them off this year.
The Acosta Bridge takes you over the St. Johns River from one side of Jacksonville to the other. It lights up Downtown Jacksonville at night.
“For me, Pride means – and it’s not just once a day once a month for me – it’s an everyday thing for me," Jonathan Stem said. It's being prideful in who I am, in the community that I am a part of. For me, the rainbow is like every color is accepted.”
Stem is the Vice President of PFLAG, an organization celebrating inclusivity and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. He says the lights make a statement.
“This really makes the LGBTQ plus community feel seen and heard," Stem said.
The bridge lights up for different reasons year round. The rainbow lights will take over for 5 days during June, which is Pride month.
Manny Velasquez-Parades, head of a local LCBTQ center, says it's a big deal to have the rainbow colors illuminate Jacksonville.
“Every time that you walk in somewhere whether it’s a store, whether it’s a church, whether it’s a museum, and you see a rainbow flag, it kind of allows you to realize you are welcome there," Velasquez-Parades said. "You are accepted. You belong. You are part of the community.”
JTA spokesperson David Cawton says they’ve submitted their June calendar to FDOT. There shouldn’t be any issues this year.
The lights turn on at once it gets dark and turn off at 6 a.m.
