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.