Small Town News

County reminds candidates to watch sign placement

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During past election seasons the county road and bridge department has received citizen reports and complaints regarding political and/or campaign signs being illegally placed in the road right of way or causing a road hazard by limiting visibility at an intersection.

Much time is unnecessarily wasted by the county road and bridge department because each complaint or report must be checked to determine whether or not there is a legitimate public safety concern.

In the event a sign is illegally placed in a road right of way, causing a traffic hazard or blocking the view of the motoring public at an intersection, the county is required to remove the offending sign in order to protect the public and prevent a possible civil liability issue against the county.

In order to eliminate or reduce the chances of campaign signs being in violation of the county ordinance and removed, the county recommends the following:

Usually aligning placement of a sign can be determined by looking at the distance of a telephone pole or a utility pedestal from the shoulder of the road. If a sign is no closer to the road than the pole or pedestal then there is a good chance the sign will be okay.

Intersections are a little bit trickier; the county road and bridge department does not advocate the placement of any signs at an intersection. The reason is that each intersection is unique in how it allows the drivers to view oncoming traffic. Some are clearer than others, while some are more limited. Therefore, there is a likelihood one sign might be removed from one intersection where another might be okay.

With that in mind the county recommends candidates try to avoid placement of a campaign sign in the area of the intersection to minimize the chance of having the sign removed.

In the event that a sign is placed at an intersection, candidates are reminded there is a strong possibility it will be removed. The county road and bridge department must lean toward the side of caution when it comes to public safety and civil liability so if there is any chance of a problem they will remove it.

If after all that, a candidate feels the need to place the sign at the intersection they are encouraged to take the time to go down and look toward the intersection from every angle to make sure the sign will not cause a traffic hazard or visibility problem.

The Bingham County Road and Bridge's efforts in providing this notification is to inform of sign placement limitations in the hopes to avoid any hurt feelings or beliefs that someone is being singled out. Anyone with questions may contact Bingham County Road and Bridge at 782-3173.



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