City of Hamilton makes Slow Down Safety Zone lawn signs available to promote road safety

HAMILTON, ON - March 31, 2017 - As part of its Road Safety program, the City of Hamilton is making Slow Down Safety Zone lawn signs available to residents to help promote awareness of residential roadway safety and to remind motorists to drive cautiously through neighbourhoods. The lawn sign program, which was initiated at the end of last year, is intended to help reduce speed and address residents’ concerns about some motorists’ driving habits.

Interested residents are encouraged to get their sign (one per household) and erect it between April 1 and November 30. The signs can be erected year round, however the April to November timeframe is recommended to maximize visibility and minimize weather impact on the signs so they can be reused.

Guidelines for sign placement

Placement of signs

• Residential streets
• On public property (between the curb or the edge of the roadway and the property line)
• 0.6 metres (2 feet) from the curb
• Inserted into the ground using the wire frame only
• Where it will not obstruct sight lines for pedestrians, cyclists or drivers
• As supplied and without further illumination or the use of reflective tape

Improper placement of signs

• Obstructing a sidewalk
• Within 3 metres of a fire hydrant
• On a roadway median or island
• By an expressway or an expressway ramp
• In a drainage ditch
• Anywhere that blocks access to, or operation of, culverts, bridges and overpasses
• On a building, structure, post, pole, tree or bush

The Signs are not enforceable by police, however enforcement of the legal posted speed limit is.

How to get a lawn sign

To get a lawn sign, residents can contact their Ward Councillor’s office. Councillors’ offices are located on the 2nd floor of City Hall. View more information about how to contact your Ward Councillor

For more information about the lawn sign program and to view the signs, visit www.hamilton.ca/slowdown. 

“As our network of pathways and bike lanes grows across the city, safety and awareness of cyclists and pedestrians is of increasing importance. Our sign program is a reminder to slow down and take caution in neighbourhoods where children play, and in urban centres with a concentration of commuters." Mayor Fred Eisenberger