ARDOT reminds candidates to keep campaign signs off highway right-of-way
The Arkansas Department of Transportation is explicitly reminding local candidates and their supporters that political campaign signs have no business on state highways.
State law is pretty clear on this: only official directional, informational, and regulatory signs belong on state-owned highway property. ARDOT maintenance crews will remove any unauthorized signs found sitting in the ditch or on the shoulder.
Honestly, if you’ve been walking down Highway 71B, around the Walton Arts Center area, or just driving through Rogers toward the Mall, you’ve seen the signs. In a fair fight, getting that “Vote [Name Here]” cardboard out in front of Miller Park or on a main thoroughfare is the cheapest form of advertising you can buy. But there is a hard line the candidates can’t cross.
Safety first, always
ARDOT Director Jared Wiley put it plainly. He said it is important to keep highway rights of way clear to ensure the safety of both drivers and road workers.
Think about the logic there for a second. In a major metropolis like Chicago or New York, you’d probably get a ticket and towed if you left some of the monstrosity of signage we see here under a street light or on the sidewalk. But here in Northwest Arkansas, we are trying to keep things friendly. Still, the rules exist for a reason.
Drivers are already distracted enough. Last I checked, nobody wants to swerve into the oncoming lane because they saw a neon green sign promising tax breaks. Then there is the liability. If a worker cleaning the ditch trips over a campaign sign, that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. If a teenager saves a buck and blindly hits a sign while driving home from Walmart, the candidate owns that mess. It’s just not worth it.
ARDOT personnel will remove unauthorized signs from right-of-way, and that usually means they are taking them to the agency’s Fayetteville maintenance office. There are often piles of these signs sitting there, waiting for someone to come claim them—if they bother to call and ask for their cardboard back.
Tips for putting up signs
For folks who are running for city council, the school board, or county judge, you want eyeballs on that name. The natural instinct is to block the view near the polling place or the city limits. However, state highway right-of-way is very specifically defined.
It covers everything from the actual pavement to the dirt shoulder and often extends a good
Source: Fayetteville Flyer