It seems pretty obvious; recognize a dangerous intersection or pedestrian area that is lacking a traffic sign and request one. Easy as pie, right? Wrong.

People have tried and many of them have failed while achieving a whole new level of frustration for their troubles. There is far more to it than people usually expect and when you’re talking about the safety of your child or your neighborhood, most people involved lose patience rather quickly. I’m sure that you’ve all seen the rallies; a cluster of residents holding up banners along the road to remind people to slow down, or watch for children, etc. This move is usually prompted by a near miss or actual accident and though there may be media coverage, that doesn’t translate in immediate action by the city or municipality responsible for road signage. Most people are under the assumption that a death equals the desired light or stop sign or decreased speed zone and though the number of instances at a particular location does play a part in the equation, there is much more to it than that. Clearly our towns and cities and villages can’t simply pop up random traffic signs and lights at every request. If you think about that for a second, you can see that the results would be a confusing heap of warnings every few feet.

The requirements for requesting a traffic sign or speed zone change may vary slightly depending on your municipality’s protocols; however, the basics remain similar throughout North America.

1-Your first step is to evaluate the actual need and be able to factually articulate why a sign is needed.

2-There are quite often online request forms available. If not, your city hall should be able to provide them.

3-Once you have made the official request, be prepared for a long wait.

There are several steps that need to be taken prior to a new sign addition, or old sign removal. Your municipality will study the area in question, including the number of “incidents” recorded for that location. They will also have the city’s engineering department look at the request and evaluate its necessity. Your individual municipality may have additional conditions, and whether a positive or negative result, this process can take months.

There is, unfortunately, no “quick fix” when looking to get a sign approved. However, if you remain patient and keep at it, you may just get exactly what you’re after.

What do Hawaii, Alaska, Maine and Vermont all have in common besides their spectacular natural beauty?

From Hanauma Bay

Billboards. Or more precisely, their lack of them. All four states have passed legislation banning the enormous and often unsightly advertisements in an effort to keep their main natural attractions in the forefront. Hawaii in particular has been very aggressive in its push to be billboard free, including a move to ban sign trucks or vehicles whose sole purpose is advertising. The donor funded organization Outdoor Circle has been the driving force behind keeping Hawaii beautiful and pushing for strict regulations with regard to any outdoor or green space. Formed in 1912 at the grassroots level, Outdoor Circle is so passionate about their cause that as recently as July of this year they took on the famed Oscar Meyer Wienermobile. While it toured Oahu, Outdoor Circle, much to the chagrin of Oscar Meyers, argued vehemently that the giant wiener on wheels was in clear violation of the Billboard vehicle law. Coincidentally, a spokesperson for the Wienermobile has stated no further plans to return to the state.

Opposition to the ban came from the usual suspects; religious groups crying freedom of speech and big business calling foul on their inability to advertise en mass via billboards. The surprise champions for the cause were Hawaii’s local shops and businesses. Though the least likely to use the pricey form of advertising, they applauded the ban on the grounds that it leveled the playing field between them and the big box and chain companies that had the benefit of huge marketing budgets.

As the rules are amended to keep up with the times, the arguments for and against will continue with a good portion being based solely on the idea of banning anything under the fear of a loss of freedom. Despite these arguments there will undoubtedly be more states considering some type of billboard or sign ban, though a country wide move would clearly be impossible. Can you imagine Las Vegas banning billboards? I think not. But as more states do begin to consider it – Rhode Island and Oregon have both banned the construction of new billboards – one has to ask; how much is too much? Are the rules and regulations that we live by becoming far too limiting? According to groups like Outdoor Circle, they are not nearly limiting enough when it comes to protecting our ever decreasing green spaces.

Here is a sign for a store closed on 4th of July and it is not what you would expect.

Here is the original link to the sign picture http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/13254/31_2008/sorry.jpg