Tired of seeing those "singles" signs littering the corners throughout town? Or perhaps you're weary of seeing the "we buy houses" handbill stapled to the telephone poles. Well, there's no guarantee that you won't see any more of them, but at least now the county has the authority to yank them down. And inmates from the Ordnance Road Correctional Center will do the yanking.
Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold announced Oct. 3 that the County Department of Public Works was successful in the acquisition of a permit that extends to the county the right and power to remove nuisance signs from state roadways and highways within Anne Arundel County.
"Anne Arundel County residents should expect their local and State agencies to work together as partners, and I am proud that I can help foster that partnership through this very important effort to keep our roadways and highways clean of litter and distractions," said County Executive Leopold. "With this action, we now have the ability to remove signs from both state and county roadways, and I intend to utilize this authority to the fullest extent."
Nuisance signs are advertisements, handbills and related items placed along roads. These signs can become hazards to motorists, and often become roadside litter which impacts the quality of life of Anne Arundel County citizen and business communities.
Currently State Highway Administration District 5 has maintenance responsibility for State roads in Anne Arundel County. Anne Arundel County's Department of Public Works has similar responsibility for more than 6,000 County-owned roads.
In collaboration with the Ordnance Road Correctional Center, the public works department will use supervised inmate labor to remove the signs similar to the administration of the department’s litter pickup program.
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