ORLANDO, Fla. – At the crosswalk outside the former Pulse Nightclub — where a man was just arrested after allegedly leaving chalky footprints while crossing the street — more signs that were left overnight suggest it’s now prohibited to use chalk on the sidewalk, too.

Chalk in hand, protesters have been back at Pulse every day for more than a week now since the Florida Department of Transportation removed the rainbow crosswalk at S Orange Avenue and W Esther Street.

Orlando installed the rainbow crosswalk in 2017 after getting the OK from FDOT when an online petition signed by more than 2,000 people requested it to honor both the memory of the victims and the struggle of the survivors from the Pulse shooting.

[WATCH: Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses controversy over rainbow crosswalk near Pulse]

FDOT painted over the tribute about two months after a directive from the Trump administration ordered the removal of so-called “distracting” road art nationwide. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent letters to all 50 governors urging the removal of any roadway markings or political messages not directly related to pedestrian or driver safety.

Multiple projects have since gotten underway to remove all sorts of street art across Central Florida — such as Daytona International Speedway’s iconic checkered-flag design, an artistic crosswalk outside an elementary school in Brevard County and more than a dozen other crosswalks just in Orlando to name a few — but questions remain over why the rainbow crosswalk at Pulse was among the very first of these removal projects in our area, as well as why it was done in the dark of night.

Not only that, but when FDOT later sent the city of Orlando a letter outlining a list of street art locations deemed non-compliant with state design standards and slated for removal, Pulse was not included. Activists thus continue to accuse the state of a dubious motive and a lack of transparency while authorities maintain it’s a matter of traffic safety.

[REPORT: Florida officials sent Orlando a list of crosswalk art to be removed. Pulse wasn’t on it]

It’s been a back and forth of chalk rainbows and inevitable intervention since then as traffic authorities and other law enforcement have stepped up their attention to the crosswalk. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, FDOT placed signs at the crosswalk overnight into Friday warning that defacing the roadway is prohibited.

[VIDEO: New signs posted outside Pulse nightclub warn against chalking roadway]

An FHP trooper arrested a man at the crosswalk Friday night — Orestes Sebastian Suarez, 28 — who’s accused of using chalk to color the bottom of his shoe before crossing the road, leaving footprints. Suarez faces a charge of defacing a traffic device ($1,000 or more) and was being held on a $5,000 bond at the time of this report, records show.

Many protesters have heeded the advice of law-enforcement officers at the crosswalk that drawing on the sidewalk was allowed while drawing on the roadway was not, in the interest of pedestrian and motorist safety.

“They told me where I could color, they told me I could stay on the sidewalk without getting into any kind of trouble, so I’m staying on the sidewalk, but I’m still going to color,” Robby Dodd told News 6’s Emily McLeod last week when FHP troopers were first seen stationed at the crosswalk.

[WATCH: Law enforcement monitoring Pulse crosswalk]

Now though, new signs appeared at the intersection overnight into Saturday that say, “DEFACING SIDEWALK PROHIBITED.”

News 6 has reached back out to FDOT to confirm whether it also installed the new signs. We were still waiting for a reply at the time of this writing.

In a memo provided Friday to News 6, an FDOT spokesperson said that, as Florida’s highway department, it’s the agency’s duty to guarantee the safety and consistency of public roadways and transportation systems by “ensuring our roadways are not utilized for social, political, or ideological interests.”

It should be noted that as SB 1662 was going through the legislative process, FDOT was working to enhance Florida’s Greenbook and the FDOT Design Manual. 

As the state highway department, it is the duty of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to ensure the safety and consistency of public roadways and transportation systems. That means ensuring our roadways are not utilized for social, political, or ideological interests.

Earlier this year, the Department completed a months-long process of updating the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), Florida’s Greenbook, and the FDOT Design Manual with input from representatives of state and local governments. This update included a prohibition on non-uniform traffic control devices, such as pavement markings on state and local roads.

In June, FDOT notified all local governments of these updates and revised provisions of Florida Statutes that give the Department authority to withhold state funds for noncompliance. This was followed by similar policy updates from USDOT Secretary Duffy.

FDOT completed a review of all state-maintained roadways and is now correcting pavement markings not in compliance on state-owned roads. That includes street art previously installed on state right of way, such as the intersection of Orange Avenue in Orlando.

This August, local governments not in compliance on local roads began receiving notifications to bring their roadways up to state standards to ensure locals govern themselves accordingly

Transportation infrastructure is for the movement of people and goods. In this case, while the crosswalk has been restored to its proper form, local efforts are underway to construct a permanent memorial on adjacent properties funded by the State of Florida. Any attempt to suggest otherwise is false.

FDOT