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Gilbert council wants talks on regulating 'sign walkers' along roads
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Gilbert and other communities will be required in 2009 to allow along major roadways "sign walkers" spinning and twirling, or sometimes wearing, advertisements.
Gilbert to plan regulation for sign walkers
To ensure that doesn't lead to unsafe or unattractive conditions, the Town Council agreed during a Tuesday night meeting to set up talks among town officials, the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce and any other city or town interested in planning similar restrictions.
The town has never allowed sign walkers in its code, but a new state law requires every municipality to allow the form of advertising, and has given towns and cities until Dec. 31 to create reasonable standards similar to those imposed on other sign uses.
Town Manager George Pettit has said he is looking to have recommendations from the stakeholders group ready by Aug. 1, so policymakers can give final approval by the state deadline. Under the law, the regulations have to be reasonable, Pettit said, and can't be so restrictive that the signs aren't really allowed.
Council members said they'd like to review restrictions as to when and where the signs can be used, to ensure they don't block or disturb traffic or cause accidents. The council also suggested meeting with other cities and towns that don't allow sign walkers now.
Vice Mayor Steve Urie said if there are only a few sign companies and if those companies would self-regulate, then regulations may not be necessary - but not having safety restrictions in place could put the town at risk.
Jim Torgeson, a Chandler resident and owner of a sign company that places sign walkers throughout the Valley, urged the council to forgo restrictions and allow the companies that hire sign walkers to regulate themselves. If no restrictions are put in place, then on Jan. 1, 2009, sign walkers can operate anywhere and anytime in town.
Torgeson had recently protested Gilbert's ban of sign walkers outside the town's Civic Center.
But he agreed that it's unsafe when sign walkers toss signs or wave them in the street or stand in the median.
"I have seen people standing on the median," he said. "It is a safety concern."
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