As election season gears up across Northwest Florida, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is reminding all citizens that state law prohibits political signs on state right of way.
In Section 479.11(8), Florida Statutes provide that no signs shall be erected, used, operated, or maintained on the right of way of any highway on the State Highway System.
Political signs placed on state right of way will be removed by FDOT staff and placed at one of the department’s operations centers. FDOT personnel will make reasonable attempts to preserve campaign signs that are taken down and to provide campaign offices an opportunity to claim the signs.
The roadway right of way includes the roadway surface, concrete or grassy median, intersections, entrance and exit ramps, and a strip of land, usually bordering either side of the road, which is reserved for shoulders, drainage ditches, sidewalks, traffic signs/signals, fencing, electrical traffic signal control boxes, utility lines and future road expansion.
Improperly located signs on state right of way poses a traffic safety hazard that can distract motorists or block their view, endanger the safety of individuals who are erecting signs along busy highways and present obstacles to crews who maintain roadways.
For more information, follow the Florida Department of Transportation District Three on Twitter @myfdot_nwfl or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MyFDOTNWFL.