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Sale signs must be 15 feet from road’s edge

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This garage sale sign on the corner of Dousman and Blackhawk is in compliance with the city’s sign placement regulations because it sits at least 15 feet away from the roadway and not between the sidewalk and the road. (File photo)

By Correne Martin

It’s garage sale season. But before the bargain-hunters come crowding your event, city officials would like sale holders to keep city sign ordinances in mind. It turns out that driving sale signs into the grassy boulevard between the road and the sidewalk is not permitted. Such signs aren’t allowed to be affixed onto telephone poles or street signs either.

Prairie du Chien Street Superintendent Dan Titlbach said the most common mistake those hosting the garage sale make is to put the signs too close to the road (in the boulevard), on a telephone pole, street sign, tree or parked car or truck.

That’s not legal, he pointed out. “We will take it down,” he said of the city staff.

Instead, ordinance dictates that signs must be placed at least 15 feet away from the edge of a road surface.

Signs must not be posted on city or a private homeowner’s or business’ property, without consent from the owner.

“At least give a common courtesy to the homeowner if you’re going to put a sign in their yard,” Titlbach said.

Also, the size of signs must be less than 3 feet in height, from the ground to the top of the sign, and less than 3 feet in square size. Police Chief Chad Abram has advised that the standard garage sale signs purchased at the local hardware store are the perfect choice.

Moreover, signs cannot be in place more than 24 hours before the sale begins or more than 24 hours after the sale is done.

According to Abram, the police department’s duty is to enforce the city’s sign ordinance, and although officers don’t intend to be overly aggressive about citing people for violations, he warned that fines can be given.

“All we want is compliance. Mostly, people are willing to comply, but it can be really frustrating when people repeatedly ignore the rules when we’ve talked to them about it,” he explained.

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