Please Spread Word: City to Fine Shops with Sidewalk Boards Beginning Tomorrow, Sept. 30
By chicago-pipeline at September 29, 2011 | 11:44 pm | Print
According to a member alert email from Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Adam Burck, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) has informed the chamber that it will begin issuing citations for public way violations, specifically A-frame/sandwich board signs and “flag-style signs” that are located in the public way, beginning immediately, as of (almost) today Friday, Sept. 30th.
“We only heard of this today and the enforcement begins tomorrow, so it is essential to spread the word fast!” Adam wrote, adding, “There is a $500 fine. We do not want our local business owners taking a $500 hit during these tough economic times, so please help spread the word ASAP to your business neighbors, particularly those with this type of signage. They should take it down by tomorrow, Friday September 30th.”
Considered unsafe for pedestrians and a source of liability for the City, the signs do not have a permit, either.
The Pipeline couldn’t help but notice a similar right of way violation, issued by the city’s Commissioner of Transportation, and taped onto Reader and other newspaper boxes at Armitage and California, spotted on Sept. 23rd, pictured. The notices affixed to the boxes said that if the boxes aren’t removed within 10 days, they will be removed and destroyed “at your expense.”
Could this new breed of violations just be another way for an already broke city to try to squeeze more blood from the pennies of small business owners, who are usually the ones who put out the signs, which are often so creative and eye catching that we snap pictures of them? In other news, does anyone know how much it costs to destroy a box? Inquiring minds…
Anyone with questions or complaints about this enforcement is encouraged to call 311 to voice your feelings.
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2 Comments
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These aren’t new laws or fines, so not sure what the story here is. Thank you to CDOT though for notifying the newspaper box owners that they cannot obstruct bus stops! Those boxes would prevent disabled people from boarding the bus at the bus stop, since there’s no space on the sidewalk to fold out the ramp.
[...] boards, otherwise banned on areas sidewalks, can be located inside of a sidewalk cafe but not outside of it, and the entrance to a cafe must be [...]