It's that time of year: Political signs are popping up along roads and at any intersection or median with a patch of dirt large enough to support a sign on a stake.
Those signs can be distracting, and I've found myself trying to read bits of small print on them while driving by.
The name of the person asking for a job is usually easy to see. Sometimes it's harder to see which office he or she is seeking, and, of course, I'm curious.
But more importantly, those signs are not allowed in the right of way on streets in Tucson and Pima County. Property owners can place signs wherever they want on their properties, as long as the signs doesn't affect drivers' ability to see or create some other safety hazard. The right of way along the sides of streets and medians at intersections, however, is off-limits.
Tucson has removed 439 signs violating that rule (not all of them for campaigns) in just the past month, said Andrea Ibañez, deputy director of the city's Housing and Community Development Department.
People are also reading…
The city and the county respond to complaints about the signs, but they also focus on areas where there is a proliferation of signs during elections, local officials said.
The county has received a couple of complaints. After crews remove signs, the county tries to contact the campaigns to tell them they can get their signs from a storage facility. Campaigns are allowed to put their signs on private property in the county 30 days before an election, and the signs can stay as long as 10 days after the election unless the candidate is continuing on to the general election, said Ben Goff, deputy director of the Pima County Transportation Department.
The city does not provide notifications to campaigns, but the signs are held for 30 days, so candidates can recover their investment and place the signs somewhere else, Ibañez said.
Not that these signs will be coming down soon. The primary election is Aug. 24, and the general election is Nov. 2.
Road Runner answers road-related questions on Mondays. Send your questions by e-mail to roadrunner@ azstarnet.com or to 4850 S. Park Ave., Tucson, AZ 85714. Please include your first and last names.
