Over the past few weeks residents may have noticed local municipal candidate election signs in front of homes and along roadways.
Many candidates create and distribute election signs to promote themselves in hopes of spreading their name to potential voters.
It is a great way to get visibility and advertise their campaign.
That being said, it has been noticed by some candidates, specifically in Douro Dummer, that their signs have gone missing from roadways.
Many local municipalities as well as the county have specific by-laws in place that regulate and in some cases restrict the placement of election signs along roadways on township/county owned property.
It should also be noted that it is a criminal offense to damage or steal an election sign in Ontario.
Within the township of Douro Dummer the by-law states:
No person shall place an election sign, or cause an election sign to be placed on any property that is owned, leased or maintained by the Township of Douro Dummer, including, but not limited to:
• Municipal Office
• Fire Halls
• Public Works Yards
• Community Centres
• Public Libraries
• Municipal Parks
• Transfer Stations;
• Vacant parcel/lot of land owned by the Municipality
It also goes on to say that election signs shall not be placed/affixed to any building owned, leased or operated by the Township of Douro Dummer and are not permitted on a municipal road allowance immediately adjacent to the properties noted above.
That being said, the by-law does state that if a Candidate or Third-Party Advertiser has rented a space from the Township for a campaign event, they shall be allowed to place a sign at the entrance of the building provided it does not block access or create a hazard, and a sign in the municipal road allowance immediately adjacent to the building. There are rules to this though and signs can only be placed one hour prior to the event and must be removed one hour after the event has completed.
In terms of signs on roadways, the by-law does allow for this and states that election signs may be placed on a municipal road allowance provided that they do not display any township logos or branding of any kind and follow the sign regulations for display within the by-law (i.e. does not have flashing lights, is not inflatable or motorized, does not simulate any traffic control device, etc.)
According to the Clerk, Martina Chait-Hartwig, only two signs have been collected for violating the township’s by-laws during the election period, which had both been picked up by the candidates.
The Clerk said that should a candidate’s sign be removed from a Township road, road allowance, or property, they are to contact the Township to make arrangements to pick up their signs.
The County of Peterborough also has their own sign by-laws which allow for signs to be placed on County Road allowances so long as they do not interfere with construction, fire hydrants, obstruct traffic/roadways/sightlines.
The full by-laws for both the county and township can be found through their respective websites.
Election Signs along County Road allowances must be placed as close to the fence line as possible, must not be closer than 30 meters (100 feet) to an intersection/fire route, trail or railway crossing, and must be removed 48 hours after voting day.
The Chief Administrative Officer for the township, Sheridan Graham, said that any signs removed due to violation of the by-law are taken to the Douro Depot (CR 4 and Hwy 28) where they can be picked up by candidates.
She said that they do not have dedicated by-law enforcement officers, but appropriate staff in public works operations will remove signs that are non-conforming. Candidates who are following up on their signs can call the County Roads Department at 705-742-6823 Monday-Thursday, 6:30 am – 5:00 pm.
Township and County Roads can be differentiated by their names. County Roads will be identified as a number after “County Road”, for example County Road 4. Township roads will typically have the name of the ward in their name such as “Douro Fourth Line Road” or “Third Line Mid Dummer Road”. However there are exceptions to this such as “Rock Road”, “Nassau Road” and “Daleview Road”. These roads are also owned by the township.
