A recent tempest in the social-media teapot concerns intersections. Not the kind that over-credentialed academics spin dissertations about in the name of “critical racial theory,” but the literal ones you walk across: crosswalks.

Some jurisdictions decided to “celebrate Pride” by painting pedestrian crossings in rainbow colors. The Trump Transportation Department declined the practice, and Florida has since repainted such intersections in standard black and white. The usual suspects promptly denounced the move as lacking “inclusion” and “respect.” A few rainbow vigilantes even took paint sets to the streets to restore their colors. Florida repainted over them again. Now, activists have taken to decorating their own driveways.

On that score, more power to them. If they want to paint their driveway rainbow or post the secular Apostles’ Creed (“In this house we believe”) in their front yard, it’s their property and their prerogative. (Their homeowners association may think differently.)

But intersections are another matter. They are common property, and as such they are not platforms for ideological messaging. Not every pedestrian buys into the gender ideology agenda. Why should taxpayers have to fund it, maintain it, or literally walk across it? There is also the question of safety. What the Brits call “zebra crossings” have a clear and universal purpose: to mark where a pedestrian may legally enter the road. Their black-and-white design tells drivers at once to slow down and watch for pedestrians. That clarity — not culture war graffiti — is what a crosswalk demands.

Living in northern Virginia, I sometimes drive through Arlington, where the authorities — besotted with bicycles and hostile to cars — have remarked Wilson Boulevard with so many lines that I’ve joked there are fewer markings on a Dulles Airport runway. Where exactly should my car be? Where do the bike lanes start and stop? The King of Siam said it right: “It’s a puzzlement!”

The last thing road users need in this muddle is more confusion, in the form of ideological “art” at intersections. Paint your driveway rainbow if you like, but leave the crosswalks alone. They’re there to help us cross a street safely, not to cross a cultural divide.