Milton residents express concerns over placement of election signs
Published May 11, 2022 at 3:11 pm
With elections just around the corner, several Milton residents have been expressing their concerns regarding signs that have been placed near roadways.
Recently, a Milton resident wrote a post in a Facebook group and stated that an election sign was “somewhat blocking the line of sight” and that there was “only a slight area visible” to see oncoming traffic.
The Facebook user also alleged that as a result, their wife was almost hit in her car trying to turn right on a red light going northbound on Thompson Rd. off of Mccuaig Dr.
“It is bad enough (when there is not an election) sometimes turning right on a red onto Thompson from Mccuaig, as people tend to speed going northbound,” read the post.
“I’ve lived in this neighbourhood for 15+ years and I easily see 3-4 accidents at this intersection per year. Adding the election signs only makes it more difficult to see and increasingly more dangerous for everyone.”
In response to the post, Councillor Zeeshan Hamid confirmed that signs are not allowed close to an intersection and that sometimes they are placed there accidentally by campaign volunteers.
Councillor Sameera Ali also responded to the post and wrote, “That’s a valid point, even though ours is far behind, we’ll get ours moved ASAP. Mccuaig is a dangerous intersection for sure.”
While every municipality has its own way of handling each situation, here’s the protocol for election signs in the Town of Milton.
The Town of Milton’s election sign by-law states that no person shall be permitted to place an election sign “where it will interfere with the safe movement of any vehicle or pedestrian traffic or where it is a general hazard to public safety.”
Additionally, the by-law states that no person shall be permitted to place an election sign “on a roadway, or on the road allowance of a highway, except for the road allowance of a minor arterial, multi-purpose arterial or collector road,” where it “impedes or obstructs the passage of pedestrians on a sidewalk,” or somewhere that is “less than 10 metres from a roadway on a highway where pedestrians are prohibited.”
In terms of the protocol for complaints regarding election signs, Mark Taylor, Senior Advisor, Public Relations for Milton recently told insauga that they should be sent to the Town’s Licensing and Enforcement Unit.
According to Taylor, this can be done online to ensure concerns are reviewed prior to an appropriate enforcement response in a timely manner.
“Enforcement Officers do their best to respond to these matters in a timely matter during this period of the election and spring, seasonal requests for service,” said Taylor.
The election signs being referred to in the Facebook post have since been removed, according to MPP for Milton, Parm Gill and Councillor Sameera Ali.
Photo: Facebook