By Staff
August 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Those people who want to fix my roof and those that want to pave my driveway are going to have to find another way to get my attention – the city has come up with a way for me to report signs that I don’t like so they can deal with them.
They call these nuisance signs, the things that are attached to street light poles or put in the ground at stop signs.
The city has added a new service request to its online customer service application (www.burlington.ca/servicerequests) that makes it easier for residents to report sightings of nuisance signs.
“Nuisance signs are the advertisements and portable directional signs often placed on street lamps and at traffic poles at major intersections and boulevards,” said Tracey Burrows, the city’s manager of bylaw enforcement, licensing and animal services. “The addition of this new service request will provide residents with a quick and easy way to inform the city about advertising signs that are creating clutter and impacting sightlines, posing traffic and pedestrian safety hazards.”
Once submitted, reports of nuisance signs are reviewed by city staff and signs that are not permitted will be removed. Residents can upload a picture with their report and use the interactive map to follow the progress of their request and see where other reports have been made in the city.
Residents can already use www.burlington.ca/servicerequests to report potholes, broken traffic signs, traffic signals and street lights, graffiti and coyote sightings. The reporting app can be downloaded directly to an iPhone or Android from www.burlington.ca/servicerequests.
“We anticipate this new service request will help city staff track the locations of nuisance signs across the city and also save time locating the signs,” said Burrows. “Residents can upload a picture of the nuisance signs right in their report so city staff know exactly where the signs are located and what they look like.”
The online customer service application (www.burlington.ca/servicerequests) was introduced in 2014 as part of the city’s increasing focus on online customer service through the e-Government program.
“More than two-thirds of residents and 70 per cent of businesses surveyed said they prefer to carry out interactions and transactions with the city online,” said Deb Caughlin, manager of Service Burlington. “The city is listening and responding to these needs by continuing to expand the online customer service application.”
The worst are Yard/Garage sale signs that people are too Lazy to go take down–They just wait for the wind & rain to take them down–
Why–Are these Not mentioned?
Jane
Simply picking up the signs only results in the offending companies replacing them the next day. Instead, have City Hall call the phone number on the sign and present the nuisance company with an invoice for the removal of each sign.
Minimum $20 each to collect and transport to the landfill.
That might stop the signs (or be a cost recovery).
What about sports camps and church banners on city fences for 6 or more months straight. Use to be charities only for a month or so prior to event and had to be down shortly after we have a church which is a business really in my area two signs up since March what is the law on these do i use this to have them removed as after that many months is an eye sore.