Community Roadside Enforcement Program

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Community Roadside Sign Enforcement Program addresses a gap between the need to remove the continuous proliferation of tens of thousands of unpermitted signs on public roads and the limited budget to support crews to maintain removal. The program addresses the problem through community and offender outreach and education, warnings, citations and abatement orders, as well as sign removal. The program, which launched on July 1, 2014, reduces the burden on highway maintenance crews and inspectors to remove signs and reduces negative community impacts from dwindling resources to clear roads of illegal signs. In addition to our education/outreach/enforcement, we use other resources including weekend work release crews through our Department of Corrections to help with sign removal. This program supports public safety initiatives related to distracted driving, pedestrian safety, and discouraging predatory organizations from taking advantage of unsuspecting victims. The program elements are: a) identify problem area, assign responders and crews to remove unpermitted signs, and implement progressive enforcement, b) develop and maintain an internal database tracking repeat offenders, and c) engage local chambers of commerce and citizens’ organizations as part of educational outreach. The Program has removed over 3,400 signs, issued 29 civil citations and obtained 18 court judgements resulting in $3,500 in fines. Over 100 offenders have been identified and tracked for compliance.